If you ask elementary school students what they want to be when they grow up, half of them would tell you that they hope to become principal one day. A majority of students have thought about the changes they would make as principal or complained to their friends about school policies that seem pointless. So, I set out to see what students would do or change if they were in charge of Etowah. 

“I respect [how difficult it is to be] principal because it’s hard to control around 2500 students,” Hope Armistead, senior, said. 

Students have struggled for years with balancing loads of homework on the weekends while simultaneously trying to hang out with their friends or just relax. After a long week, many students are hesitant to spend their limited amount of free time doing more schoolwork.  

“If I were principal, I would make it so that teachers aren’t allowed to assign homework over the weekend, so kids can use this time to rest without having to worry about school,” Hannah Wysocki, junior, said. 

For many students, lunch is the best part of the school day: it is a time to de-stress, finish homework, and talk to friends without fear of being yelled at by a teacher. Some want this time to be spent elsewhere than school, so they can get lunch in restaurants in the Towne Lake area. 

“[I think] students who can drive should leave for lunch,” Abigail Billings, senior, said. 

Block schedules have been up for debate in school districts all over the country, and many people are fighting for a change. Block schedules allow students to spend more time in fewer classes, so that they finish a year in a semester rather than taking a full school year. 

“I would try and push for a change to the block system where students only have two to three classes academic classes per semester,” Hamza Khan, sophomore, said. 

Some people, parents and students alike, have argued for years that the school environment is not for everyone. It can be difficult to sit still and easy to become distracted, and students also deal with the added pressure of looking presentable for others. By cutting back time spent in school and increasing time on Canvas, students might feel less pressure than they do on an average school day. 

“I would cut back homework and increase the amount of digital learning time,” Collin Sherrer, freshman, said. 

Students may or may not agree with every rule at Etowah, but it is hard to ignore the hours of hard work put in by the staff daily to keep the school running.