Juniors and seniors who aren’t new to Radford can recall the days when TASK B existed. Once a week, on Wednesdays, students could seek help from up to two teachers during TASK. Students are asking teachers to revisit its bell schedule and consider re-implementing a second TASK into the school day.

When this year’s bell schedule was created, it resembled a similar schedule from school year 2013-2014, excluding one element: Task B.

Based on my experience, the second TASK gave me opportunities to visit more than one teacher for assistance, or small group tutoring. Consequently, students are forced to pick only one teacher to seek help from or make up work in, and end up stressed out because they have to sacrifice another class to do this.

“Students should be able to go to more than one class,” Haille Lane (12) said. “We need more time get help and focus on assignments.”

TASK B provided needed time to complete work. Students could actually make use of this precious time, and accomplish more by tackling multiple classes’ worth of assignments.

Many students, unfortunately, are unable to attend after school tutoring at the Transition Center due to a lack of transportation, or athletic practices.

“We had more classes to focus on [with the addition of Task B], and we didn’t have to go after school for help,” Anthony Edmonson (12) said.

In the past, a combined TASK A and B allowed students to take or retake tests during a time frame that mirrored the number of minutes in a class period. Since recess isn’t really an option- being only 15 minutes long- making up work during a single TASK made some students feel penalized because they were forced to complete the assignment by the end of 30 minutes.

It is also a struggle for AP students, such as myself, with the disappearance of TASK B. There is a constant demand for help from the teacher and assignment time, since Advanced Placement courses are demanding. Giving AP students an extra 30 minutes can make all the difference in allowing us to better understand our work.

Even with all these benefits of reintroducing the additional TASK, there is the concern of students failing to use this extra time properly.

“Students need TASK because they need the extra time,” science teacher Mitch Kimura said. “But, some students don’t utilize it.

Math teacher Summer Slayter also sees how TASK could be used more effectively.

“Some students use it well, but based on how I see some students use Task A, I have to say no [to TASK B],” she said. “If those students used it better, then yes.”

Regardless of this, I feel that students should not have such a luxury taken away merely because others fail to take initiative with their education. If other students neglect to use this valuable resource, that should only be on them, not other peers that want to take full advantage of their opportunities.

Reintroducing TASK B into the student schedule can only benefit students. Opportunities for small student-teacher ratio interaction will encourage students to take initiative of their education, will allow students to complete more work on multiple courses, and will offer sufficient time on assessments/assignment retakes. This would increase student performance, and teach them skills on addressing confusions on assignments in classes.