Mercer Island High School 9100 SE 42nd St. Mercer Island, WA 98040
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MERCER IS SCHOOL DIST 400
Inequitable distribution of Holiday Homework Julia Weisfield
Staff Writer
As winter approaches, I am sure all students are excited for a fun and restful winter break, however, it is apparent that religious holidays such as Rosh Hashanah or Ramadan at MIHS are not exactly work free. Where many students who celebrate Christmas experience little school stress over the break, holidays for people of other religions can be the most anxiety inducing time of year. The struggle of discovering which classes are assigning work or assessments during a holiday and individually emailing each teacher defeats the purpose of an excused absence. “Religious holidays are an opportunity to see my relatives and friends who live in other places, but I am unable to do so because I would have to miss days of school which would then increase the workload and stress,” said Tulin Alrouk, a student at MIHS. The email that Dr. Fred Rundle sent out clearly instructs the district to respect the religious holidays of others and refrain from assigning work. Even after this email directing teachers not to assign homework or give tests, I still found myself with a ridiculous amount of missed classwork during Jewish holidays. One of the only teachers that I have who assigned zero work and did not teach valuable information during Jewish High Holidays is Christine Kenyon. Rather than filling the class with busywork she took the time to talk about why she wasn’t giving assignments that day. “I am glad that I met your needs although I believe you were in class during your High Holiday, so I felt a little sad that you had to be here in school because I know that your family changed how they were celebrating to accommodate your needs,” Kenyon said. Many teachers will give an extra day or two to make up for the assignments missed but won’t excuse a student from them. While this makes it easier, is it really fair? The amount of information taught in a single day in high school is crucial to a student’s grade in a class, and some students then find themselves having to choose between school or religious services. This is an extremely unfair expectation of nonChristians during holidays. Where any Christian holiday receives a week off or an entire weekend, the major holidays of other religions are barely excused. “Oftentimes, yes, I feel as though I have to choose between having missing assignments or attending a religious holiday. I would say three to four of my teachers assign work on
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Some students then find themselves having to choose between school or religious services
Kyle Gerstel
Jewish holidays, and I have only two who excuse me from them,” said MIHS freshman Jack Rubenstein. As a Jewish student at MIHS, it feels as though the school is more focused on meeting the needs of Christian students during the holidays. “The school targets meeting the needs of larger groups such as Christians, and as a smaller group, they don’t attend to the needs of Jewish people,” said Rubenstein. Christmas tends to be a uniting time of year where people get together and celebrate although it can single out certain students when continuously discussed in a school environment. “The opportunity to unite through our differences yields learning opportunities for children and adults alike. As inclusive as this time of year has the potential to be, it can also be divisive without intentionality,” said Rundle. December is an extremely busy time for students because finals are coming up, we take a long break, and winter sports begin. This being said, the addition of work on holidays for nonChristian students is not equitable.
or Graphic by Tayl
Holshouser
Study Guide Black Market
A&E Team
MIHS history teacher David Willecke does not provide his students with study guides; instead, he encourages them to create their own. However, many students buy and sell study materials since sharing materials is permitted according to the MIHS Academic Integrity Code, unless a teacher actively prohibits it.
for those tests,” Wang said. “I’ll read the text and write a few questions about each chunk.” This year, Wang’s business model has shifted. “Last year, I sent them out and if you wanted to ‘donate,’ then you could,” Wang said. “This year, I decided that they’re too much work.” Wang believes Willecke appreciates his work. “He encourages
@mihs_studyguides
Junior Keegan Wang is one of the most popular study guide vendors at MIHS. “Willecke has these long-a** history tests and last year and this year, I’ve been making study guides
trading [study guides], but also selling them,” Wang said. “As long as someone’s making it, it’s fine, and if people are too lazy to make their own, selling [them] is fine.” In reality, Willecke does not support monetizing study guides, but he accepts that some students will make that choice no matter what. “Yeah, I don’t really have any control over that,” Willecke said. “I guess I would be sad if they did that instead of making their own tests. That’s the best possible way to study.” This year, Willecke had his AP USH students create a practice test as a class to help them study. This did not discourage Wang. “[Willecke’s] questions are very specific and he writes them in specific ways, so our class didn’t make a very good study guide,” Wang said. Thus, Wang’s business has continued to thrive. Willecke does not believe educators have an ethical responsibility to take a stand against study guide commerce. “That doesn’t happen in my classroom or whatever, so I feel like I’d just be pretending [to restrict it],” Willecke said.
However, that is not true—Wang openly promotes his business in the classroom, as well as online. “I usually post it on Instagram or write on the whiteboard,” Wang said. Willecke did not realize this, but he does not care. “I haven’t noticed that—there are lots of things on the whiteboard in my room, student drawings and such, so that isn’t something I am officially posting,” Willecke said via email. “I am not attempting to control student’s [sic] sharing of materials.” Some have argued that study guide commerce is harmful to the culture of our school since students may not have the resources to purchase a study guide. Teachers can attempt to eliminate study guide businesses by providing study guides with keys. That way, students can still choose to create their own study guides or have one without making it regardless of economic background.” Willecke disagrees that it is inequitable. “It’s just students
coming up with what they think is going to be on the test,” Willecke said. “It’s not like they have any inside info.” In fact, Willecke advocates for purchasing professional study materials even though some students may not have the resources to do so. “If kids want to pay for study materials or pay for Princeton Review or whatever, that’s probably a good idea,” Willecke said. “I guess that strikes me as the lay of the land; that kind of inequity exists in education.” Wang is using the money he makes to pay for his ticket to Taylor Swift’s next concert tour. “I’m going to the Eras concert. I am a Swiftie,” Wang said. “It was $300.”