Baron Playday is a schoolwide event that is intended to give students a break from the stress of school for that day. However, there are a plethora of issues that are not addressed in this event. Baron Playday is unfortunately ineffective in giving students a “break day” due to the uncooperative teachers and staff members who try to stop students from receiving their needed breaks.

Many students, understandably, do not see teachers as their friends. They truly do not think they are trying to help them. From experience, I can say that I understand why others feel this way. Last year, I had a math teacher I loved. Mr. Nguyen is an amazing teacher who taught the material while making me love the subject. He also felt like a teacher you could go to for your problems. He’s a great teacher and person. However, this year, I have a new math teacher. I’m sure she has a lot of experience and is a great mother and grandmother, but in my opinion, she is not a great teacher. She is rather hostile and unhelpful when you come to her. Where this comes from, I do not know, but you should not be a teacher if you cannot deal with and endure children. This hostility and unfriendly behavior is what leads students to believe teachers are not on their side. That they are not there to help them. So when Baron Playday comes around and your teacher tells you they did not sign up for you to go outside, you cannot help but feel betrayed. The fact that teachers can choose not to let their kids outside on the one day that is designated for students to “play” is nothing short of outrageous. Having to sit in your classroom while watching other students play because your teacher decided not to is just not right.

The next issue would have to be the staff. They patrol around the perimeter of the playday. It makes you feel like you’re in an enclosure, a prison. Simply walking back to your class to get something will make you a target to be accosted. Last year, the area Baron Playday had was probably 2x as big. You had the basketball courts and the area in front of the softball fields to do different activities. You had way more of the school to play in. To my knowledge, this had no more increase in incidents than it did when they halved the size of Baron Playday in half. I understand the safety concerns and the need for supervision, but this is not what Baron Playday should be. You should not feel caged in on a day you’re supposed to be free.

Baron Playday needs to be a required event for teachers to participate in. This is a day for the mental health of the students. Teachers not believing in student mental health is distasteful and should absolutely be something teachers lose their jobs for. To make Baron Playday successful, we need the cooperation of everyone. This includes staff, teachers, and students.