It is not uncommon for schools nowadays to hold assemblies and pep rallies, but the fact is, most students don’t get much out of these costly events.
Assemblies only go half way when solving what they’re trying to address. Though these assemblies work well to notify students of the dangers of drugs or bullying, most students simply don’t care.
As bad as it sounds, students don’t want to hear the heartbreaking story of drug addicts that turned sober. Most students will roll their eyes and talk to the person beside them.
Tons of assemblies these days are focused on two main issues: drugs and bullying. These assemblies are definitely informational, but students certainly know about the dangers of both. Teenagers have been learning about drugs since sixth grade with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E. program. Bullying has also been an issue that has been pressed for a while now.
Assemblies also take away from learning time. Oftentimes, assemblies will take up an entire block and can mess up a teacher’s plans. For something that most students find no value in anyway, this may as well be considered completely wasted time.
Freshman Neha Iyer said, “Assemblies ultimately take up time that could be dedicated to learning new things. Most of the topics in assemblies at this point are things that we have heard year after year. We don’t need to waste our class time hearing the same information over and over again.”
Moreover, assemblies are pretty expensive. They tend to cost anywhere in the area of 500 to 1500 dollars just for one show. Multiple shows will only drive up costs.
Pep rallies are just as equally futile. Although their purpose is to raise school spirit, most students seem to think they are a waste of time. During pep rallies, an announcer will introduce the school’s sports teams, focusing on all of the seniors on the team.
“A lot of the time, pep rallies are really boring to me. No one really pays much attention to them, and they only really focus on the seniors. I, for one, don’t really care for the games they like to play either; they only include some of the people from each grade,” said East Brunswick sophomore Justina Saad.
Pep rallies are similar to assemblies in the sense that they also pull students out of class. They are a little more interactive, though, as they usually call down a couple volunteers from the audience to participate in some of the activities happening on the floor.
Sophomore Skyler Kapel said, “I dislike pep rallies because I feel that they’re really unorganized and don’t actually have enough pep to bring awareness and anticipation of the upcoming game. They’re also really loud and annoying, and are oftentimes more stressful than they should be, trying to find friends in the seats and all.”
Fixing assemblies could mean changing the topics that they focus on. Students have heard about drugs, bullying and sex all too often.
Assemblies do little more than simply waste time. Making assemblies much more interactive, or simply not having them at all would be an ideal solution to assemblies.
Do you believe pep rallies and assemblies have an important role in the school community? How do you feel about them?
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