New Minga Policy Positives
The new Minga policy that has been implemented this school year has been getting mixed reviews. However, the new policy isn’t all that bad, and has been dramatically helping administration during the access time period.
The new limitation regarding the Minga app is the hall pass for advisory. Now, students must sign out with their advisory teacher through the app before going to see another teacher. Once they are signed out they have seven minutes to get to that teacher’s office or room, where that teacher will then confirm that they made it.
“I just hope that kids understand that access is a privilege,” Activities Director Kelly Prevost said.
Being a senior at Creek, I understand exactly why they implemented this into the Minga system. Every year I see countless kids leaving during access, to go get food or hangout with friends.
If schools don’t treat students with proper care (AKA supervision and the understanding of where they are) they have to deal with a very serious case.
“While you’re on campus we are responsible for you,” Prevost said.
While Wednesdays may be short, we still have time to go off during our free periods and get food or hangout with friends without having to leave during access.
While students may think this new regulation is pointless, the truth is it provides so much more safety to the students during a time when they are required and expected to be on campus.
New Minga Policy Negatives
Entering as a Freshman, I never expected to have a digital ID system. Now it’s senior year, and we have this system that I barely even use, even during access time.
Signing students out through Minga so they can simply leave during access is not ideal. Don’t get me wrong, I get the purpose—so students use their time more efficiently and make sure they’re seeing the teachers they need to see. Changing how the school does access time during advisory, however, doesn’t benefit students. The system glitches and doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do properly. Then on top of that, it can cause students to get sent to the dean for infractions not of their own doing.
“Minga is overall good, but the hall pass thing is not. When I tried to go see my science teacher, I was accidentally marked absent,” senior Zach Hassan said. “I find it a waste of time…rushing to a teacher is annoying when we have limited time to get from one place to another, when it’s just a simple question most times.”
Not to mention the struggles teachers face when it doesn’t scan or work properly—it often takes more time to get Minga working than to use simpler, more direct methods like emailing or giving a quick written pass. Instead of improving efficiency, the system ends up slowing down both students and teachers. If the goal of access is truly to give students more meaningful time with teachers, then relying on a tool that creates more barriers than solutions is not the best approach.
