As the rest of RHS sits at their desks, listening to lectures, waiting for the day to end, senior Gina Azzam, an AP World History student signs out at the security desk by the main office doors, preparing to enjoy the freedom that comes with a “hybrid day.” For each hybrid class students take, they get designated “hybrid days,” where during that hour they may sign out and are allowed to leave school. The amount of hybrid days are based on the course curriculum and teacher discretion.
Many of the students in these classes look forward to each week’s hybrid days with a lot of enthusiasm, as would be expected of high school students. A student will be more likely to take a class where they don’t have to come to class a couple times a week.
This freedom provides kids with greater motivation to take advanced classes such as AP World History and AP Literature as well as sticking with a foreign language. If more advanced classes had the “hybrid” tag next to them, students would be signing up for AP’s in record numbers.
When students get the hour off, they don’t get to just go home and nap; there is still work to do. On hybrid days, students are expected to complete an individual online assignment as an alternative to in-class work.
Getting to sleep in, leave school early or getting an extended lunch with the responsibility of completing an assignment on one’s own time, similar to a job, will establish a lot of maturity in high schoolers. It lets them know that they are trusted to act like responsible adults, and gives them a taste of college and the real world. Granting them this freedom will create a much stronger and better prepared student body.
With the proper atmosphere and teacher, laziness associated with the free hour can be eliminated. If done correctly, the hybrid day can lead to students that have a better attitude towards schools and are more mature, motivated, and responsible outlook on assignments.
To run a hybrid class correctly, a teacher needs to keep the students under pressure. The students need to know that hybrid classes are not blow offs. A teacher should give plenty of assignments, both online and in class, to strengthen student retention and to once again prepare students for the demands of the real world.
Many national studies conducted by organizations such as the Ithaca Group, have revealed that students who partake in hybrid or blended classes are exposed to a different type of learning which results in higher performance levels on standardized tests than students in traditional learning environments. Applying hybrid learning to more classes on a national level could yield similar results, which would help to create a more competitive and educated American student population.
Hybrid classes are truly the future of learning. More and more students will be looking to follow their peers and participate in such classes. When this becomes the norm, the general attitude of students towards school will improve and students will feel more trusted and involved while also enjoying greater freedom. Hybrid classes are sure to cause a revolution among students and in America’s education system.
