Jacey Cuffie

Either loved or hated, SPEAR returns for the 2021-22 second semester, establishing its third year within NC’s halls. The acronym sends shivers down certain student and faculty spines, while simultaneously invoking joy in others. Regardless, the timeframe in which it occurs, SPEAR brings challenge in its success, and potentially its effectiveness. “ If you’re only teaching one subject, it makes it sometimes hard to plan. If you do something and you have it set by one part of the class, by the end of the week you’ve already changed in your class what’s going on; you have to plan more,” chemistry teacher Nena Tippens said. Certain students, however, recognize the potential within a teacher’s diligent effort to make the 30 minute block just right. “I feel like SPEAR is really helpful for my core classes, like my lit and sign language class we study, but I feel like for the other classes it’s not actually that helpful; it cuts down on our lunch time and makes it not as long, but I feel like if teachers have a plan it’s a very good time period, but a lot of teachers don’t,” sophomore Raegan Lewis said.