By: Jack Hippler
The House system, while somewhat controversial, has been expanding at BK. This year, its involvement in the school has greatly increased, and next year, it will grow even larger as student leadership roles are integrated into the House system as well. As House becomes an integral part of life at Bishop Kelly, students and faculty need to consider whether the current direction of House is what they want. Long before the House, there was a Homeroom. Homeroom was essentially a more archaic form of Bishop Kelly’s current system, House.
In homeroom, students would spend small blocks of time with their assigned teachers. It was a lot less structured than House, as there were no preplanned activities or competitions. Rather, students were left to their own devices to do something with their teacher. Eventually, the homeroom system was phased out for a new system: Community Time. In Community Time, students would be split into groups based on their selections on a form they filled out. Each Community Time group was themed based on a certain activity, which varied greatly. From fishing to board games to baking – it seemed like Community Time had something for everyone. While homeroom was essentially a prototype House system, Community Time had many things that the House system currently lacks. In this system, students were often paired with students who had similar interests rather than random people. This encouraged a better cohesion between students and encouraged the community the activity was named after. Having all students participate in similar activities consistently also helped to promote a sense of unity by giving them a set goal and direction. Community Time was not perfect, though. House also has things it does better than Community Time. The competitions and rallies allow students to feel a sense of belonging and attachment to their House and family. The points are fun and provide opportunities for students to feel rewarded for their efforts.
House has a much better sense of fluidity and competition, whereas Community time has a better sense of belonging and community. A solution that could fix a lot of the current issues with House would be to make a hybrid of it and Community Time. Students could fill out the surveys for Community Time once per semester or year and be placed in a family group for that community. Each family would still be a part of a House, and House activities like service learning day and rallies would still be possible. This way, students would be able to enjoy the benefits of both Community Time and House with minimal effort in changing the current system. The main drawback to this approach is that students would no longer be in a family for their entire high school duration. However, this could be beneficial as it leads to a larger variety of new experiences and keeps things from becoming dull or boring. Overall, House is likely not going away any time soon, so it’s up to the community at BK to constantly improve and better it. Combining House and Community Time would be a great way to accomplish this.
The Bishop Kelly Newspaper 