Not So Reduced Schedule

Beeeeeeeeeep. That’s the end of fourth hour. I only have 40 minutes to walk the seemingly mile-long trek to spot 155, grab a fast — but cheap — lunch, commute down Ward Parkway to 63rd Street and find a parking spot in the crammed alley of Brookside.

For most students, the beep of the fourth hour bell signals the start of fifth hour or first lunch in the cafeteria. For me, the bell has an entirely different meaning: time for work. Thanks to the reduced schedule option East offers, I am able to go to school while having a part time job.

My afternoon is no longer filled with marketing, team games and lab aiding. Instead, it’s filled with something useful: a job. A job that teaches me work ethic, communication skills and attention to detail. Three lessons that my time in school hasn’t taught me.

Through my reduced schedule, I learn valuable skills that I will carry with me into college and the workforce. Instead of spending my afternoon in painting or choir — I have no interest in being the next Pablo Picasso and no chance at being the next Adele — I file invoices, prepare inventory and fulfill customer needs at Lauren Alexandra. Lauren Alexandra is in Brookside and is a store featuring high-end baby & children’s clothing, furniture, nursery decor & gifts.

My schedule consists of four classes: AP Literature and Composition, U.S. Government, Statistics and Harbinger. Three out of four of these classes are required for graduating, or else I wouldn’t be in them. Because quite frankly, I would rather be at work learning valuable skills.

Some of my peers joke that I am “half assing” my senior year by having a reduced schedule. People assume that I nap all day or binge watch Netflix. They comment on how easy my schedule is, but I wonder if they could handle 28 hours of work between six days of the week.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I walk through the polka dot backdoor of Lauren Alexandra in Brookside, then head down to the basement office. I clock in and wait for my boss to give me instructions for the day. In the span of 10 minutes I’ve already practiced three skills: punctuality, patience and following orders.

Every day brings a new assignment, from sending out marketing campaigns to tagging new inventory, which allows me to test out what I enjoy, and what I don’t. Through struggling to count the cash drawer at the end of every shift, I have discovered that I have no desire to pursue a career in finance.

Because of the negative connotation surrounding the program — thanks to the students who use the extra hours to nap — my friends are not the only ones who joke.

Many counselors and administrators don’t encourage a reduced schedule, and require you to be approved in order to participate. I had to provide my reasoning for wanting to participate and get a parent, counselor and administrator to sign just so I could get out of spending my afternoon in ceramics and instead go to work.

With three core classes and one elective, my schedule is just as hard as the next senior’s. I still read five chapters of my assigned novel every night. I still spend hours on Edgenuity.com doing Government homework and I still use my calculator every night to finish Statistic problems.

Mrs. Feinberg may have taught me all about “Huck Finn” and Mr. Burrows may have taught me all about trigonometry, but neither of these subjects seem to be essential for my future business career.

What is essential for my future success in a business career is business skills. And yes, I could’ve just taken Intro to Business at school, but I believe it’s hard to acquire business skills from a textbook, or by watching episodes of Undercover Boss.

To say I haven’t learned anything in high school would be a lie. So don’t get me wrong, I have. But the material I’ve learned hasn’t proved to be useful in my future profession. And that is exactly why I chose to do reduced schedule, not because I’m “lazy” or “taking the easy route,” but because I value hands-on experience and learning useful skills that will actually apply to my future.

I have spent the past three months familiarizing myself with balancing both an education and a career. I have learned what it’s like to get up at 6:30 a.m. everyday, put on a dress, do my hair and makeup to work long hours. And in college, when it’s time to do it all again, this routine will not catch me off guard because I am familiar with it.