Many students were not very affected last year when Work to Rule started as it began only a few weeks before summer break began, but this year students are more impacted, given Work to Rule’s timing around finals. Teachers at Irvington have been closing their doors before and after school, as well as during lunch. They are also no longer writing recommendation letters, or responding to emails outside of school hours. Many schools in Fremont, especially high schools, seem to also be following the same route, including American and Mission San Jose High.

American High School was originally taking a less extreme approach despite participating in the walkout last year. They started work to rule on January 11 and since then have closed their doors outside of school hours, and refused to write letters of recommendation. Some teachers, however, are worried about the repercussions of participating in Work to Rule.

“They’re not reluctant,” says an American teacher who would like to stay anonymous. “They’re happy to [participate in Work to Rule], but they feel like they might be written up or they might get into the radar of getting into trouble.”

Mission San Jose is similar to Irvington in that many clubs have been temporarily shut down and no longer have events, with the exceptions of some clubs like DECA and Writer’s Block. Most teachers at Mission have also closed their classrooms to students outside of their work hours, including during lunch and before and after school. Teachers are even making students pack up early, so that they can leave the classroom immediately after the bell rings. Like Irvington, they are not writing recommendation letters either. However, a lot of students have already gotten the letters they need for colleges, internships, or other summer programs. Compared to Irvington students, the students at Mission are reacting very differently to this change. 

“Most teachers offer help during class,” said a Mission sophomore (10) who wishes to remain anonymous. “Many students tend not to come after school unless it’s for making up a test since they get the help they need online, from extra classes their parents put them in, or in class. During the week we also have advisory which is when students can go to different classes to get help… From my point of view, Work to Rule hasn’t impacted my life or my friends.” 

While both students and teachers are unsure of what is going to happen next, they hope that the issue will be resolved soon and that teachers can get a raise so that everything can go back to normal.