It turns out last year we didn’t go to school long enough, so now the Board Office is extending Riverside’s school hours by one minute on Wednesday and eight minutes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, because six precious hours of our day just wasn’t enough. Apparently someone at the Board Office found out that our school hours did not meet standards set.

There seems to be no use in extending school hours other than to meet requirements. This extension means 15 extra seconds per block on Wednesdays and two extra minutes every other. What can a teacher do in 15 seconds or 120 seconds? Nothing. Students are just standing at the door, hands in pockets, staring at the clock, waiting for the bell to ring, except now students have to stand longer.

Not to mention that it creates problems for those who bus home. Principal Anthony Ciolfitto had to tell Translink to delay the arrival of Special buses, because for the first two weeks, Translink, in their omniscient wisdom didn’t know that school hours were extended, and the Special buses continued to leave school at 3:10 with a small handful of students on board. In addition, students who relied on other buses like 160 or C38 are now missing them.

It would make much more sense to start school eight minutes early so that people don’t miss buses, add a few more days of school so that teachers can actually use the extra time or just do nothing so that every student can be happy. None of these options would satisfy everyone but every one of them is preferable.