On Monday, April 15, Park implemented a new hallway pass system. The system is all online, accessible with the student chromebooks, where the student has to log into the SmartPass website, create a pass and request for their teacher to approve it, to be able to go to the bathroom or leave class for any reason. There are also certain times during each class period called “No Fly Time” for the first and last ten minutes of class when students are not allowed to leave, and each student is limited to three passes per day.
SmartPass will take everyone a while to get used to, as teachers are still figuring out how to work it, and students adjust to it. It will make things more complicated for everyone at first, but after a while it could make things easier for the teachers to keep track of students, and keep them in line.
Since the first day it has been used, this system has been very controversial amongst students and teachers alike. Nobody likes big changes in what they are used to and comfortable with, and this is no exception. There have already been many issues, and students prefer the old physical pass system because it is simpler and less cumbersome.
The new system is not very good for the school, at least in the short term. Although the previous system had its flaws it still worked fine if the teacher paid attention to who was out. No matter what system the school uses, there will be flaws regardless. There are many reasons the new one is not better. First of all, the fact that students need their chromebook to acquire a pass will make things harder for them. Taking out their chromebook, signing into it, going to the SmartPass website and creating a pass with the reason and location they are going to just to request one, and then waiting for the teacher to accept it takes much longer then simply asking the teacher if they can use the restroom or go to wherever they need to go, grabbing the pass and leaving. Additionally, if the student forgets to bring or to charge their chromebook, they will be out of luck if they want to leave during class time since the school has blocked access to the app on students phones. One silver lining to this, it may lead to students charging their chromebook more consistently. Another reason this system won’t work is teachers may not be willing to approve passes during certain times in their class. Already in my own experience with SmartPass there has been a scenario just like this. I requested a pass towards the beginning of class to use the bathroom, but my teacher was in the middle of a lesson, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to interrupt, and I thought she might just see the request on her own. 15-20 minutes went by and she didn’t request it so I raised my hand and asked her if she could request my pass, but she responded passive aggressively with no and that I had to wait until we were done learning. Eventually she finished teaching her lesson, and finally approved my pass, but at that point there were only 11 or 12 minutes left of class. If she had been teaching for just a minute or two longer, it would’ve been No Fly Time, and I would’ve had to wait ten minutes until the end of class to use the bathroom during passing time. Situations similar to this are bound to happen, and I am sure it will be frustrating for teachers when they are in the middle of teaching a lesson and are interrupted by having to go on to their computer and approve passes.
At the end of the day, the biggest issue with the new SmartPass system is just that it is so new and it is a change from what everyone is used to. Although I don’t like it, I think with time it will get better, and students and teachers will work through the growing pains of it. Eventually everyone will adjust to it and it will become the new norm.
