By Catelyn DiLeva
Staff Writer
Costa Chemistry teachers Dan Bartlett and Ernesto Nodado have been switched in and out of a zero period chemistry class since the beginning of the year and algebra teacher Denise Weber has been absent for nearly a month. These situations have caused students confusion and have presented an unfair situation for all students.
Nodado was originally supposed to teach the zero period chemistry class that was then taken over by Bartlett but eventually taken over by Nodado completely. According to Bartlett, everyone knew since the beginning of the year that teachers would be switching for this chemistry class but no one had an alternative decision for what would happen.
Even though all classes are not permanent in the beginning of the year, it is confusing to have classes switching around teachers more than half way through the semester. According to Bartlett, in past years he has been assigned temporary classes but then taught the class the entire year, thus proving unsteady class assignments for teachers and students. When classes are assigned to teachers without knowing if they are going to be teaching the class for the rest of the year, it makes the students in that position confused and angry. Moving teachers around can also cause stress and lower scores on work and tests.
The biggest change students have to go through is getting used to the teaching style of the teacher and the new grading system and expectations set by the teacher. According to Bartlett and Nodado it is a hard thing students have to get used to quickly and without little warning. With teachers being switched in and out of the same class, students may get confused between all of the different teachers requests which can cause further damage to their grade or understanding in the class.
Algebra teacher Denise Weber has been absent for nearly a month leaving her students with a substitute who does not know the classes math material. Students have been expected to take multiple tests and quizzes without the help of preparation by their teacher creating more anger of students. This is unfair because when substitutes take over for an absent teacher, not all of them are official teachers for a certain subject which does not help the students with their studies.
As stated by sophomore Katherine Rogerson, students and substitutes were put in a difficult situation when they were expected to learn new material, but they did not have their teacher, only a substitute who did not know what to do. This situation leaves students in the dark when they do not have their teacher and can only rely on few resources to help them. Students also can get anxiety and worried about how this class will affect the future classes they have to take and if they will pass the class.
Students have been told that their teacher Ms Weber will be back on Dec. 5, but it is not guaranteed that she will be back as stated by PRINCIPAL OR ADMIN. If students are left without a teacher for a longer period of time, students will not be fully learning the material that they need to learn and it will cause further lack of understanding in class.
In certain situations, for example, when teachers are being switched between classes or absent, it is very difficult for students to learn everything they need to by a deadline for a test or quiz. This is all caused by confusion because of the missing teacher and confusion in classrooms later results in lower grades on homework, quizzes and tests and possibly confusion in the future material students have to learn.
If teachers are not present in the classroom for a long period of time the substitutes should be able to teach the subject that they are substituting. Having a substitute who does not know the subject they are teaching should not be teaching the class, especially for a long period of time, because this will not benefit anyone.
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