As SmartPass has been implemented into schools, there has been a great increase of benefits. SmartPass provides an immense amount of accountability by tracking students and maintaining a digital record of their whereabouts. It has evolved new ideas of structure in the bathrooms by keeping track of which bathroom students go to. Furthermore, this is extremely beneficial because it provides an extra precaution with safety as teachers hold students accountable if any mishaps happen. The teachers also agreed that these were beneficial. Mrs. Spina, English teacher at JCHS, stated how she believes it keeps students safe and allows teachers to keep a record of them. It also helps lessen distractions during class as you can quietly sign yourself out. It also benefits the hall-monitors because they can track who should be in the hallways and where they are going. Overall, both students and teachers can see positivity in the environment.
Nevertheless, there are some downsides which cause a controversy. Ever since the implementation of the new system this year, there has been a lack of trust for various reasons. Each student needs to sign out in order to use the bathroom and are timed. Many students bristle at having to be timed while going to the bathroom. Also, it can be difficult for students to truly know how long they have taken because they do not have their phones. Without our phones, many students struggle to feel secure. Each student has been timed for their daily, weekly, and monthly bathroom usage which has made many upset.
Many of the students have vocalized their opinions by saying they are fine with the bathroom pass aspects, but being timed is not ideal. Another drawback is that the WiFi connection can make it difficult for the system to efficiently work. For example, in some rooms the WiFi can prolong the actual process of getting the pass. To add on, sometimes with the WiFi, getting the pass to work can take up a significant amount of time which can cause lines and overall dysfunction. Another issue is that some school locations such as Guidance appear as “closed,” causing teachers to write a pass. This makes it hard to write a specific pass to where they are going. To conclude, the negatives of SmartPass have impacted teachers and students.
Photo courtesy of SmartPass
All in all, each student and teacher can come to a common ground and agree that there are trade-offs with the new addition of SmartPass bathroom passes. The positives can be structural functions, accounting for who is where, and overall safety. On the other hand, negatives can be the timed bathroom pass, culture of mistrust, and also the no phone usage. In conclusion, both sides can be taken into consideration, and we should work towards a solution that helps all.
For all that, there are solutions to many negatives which the whole school can work towards. To start, there should be a backup system just in case of WiFi issues. Backup solutions could be simply keeping track of a piece of paper and then later entering into the systems when the WiFi works again. Also, the timer could be eliminated and left up to the teacher to decide what they consider as cutting class. In summation, each of these solutions can actively benefit the results and feelings towards the new SmartPass.
