If there’s one thing that every student at Fort Hamilton has in common, it is that at one point or another they’ve had to contend with the ever-daunting four minutes of passing. Those few minutes between periods determine whether or not you’re late or (just barely) on time. It’s bad enough that that’s all the time you have to get to class, but it gets worse when you remember that four minutes is all the time everyone else has as well. That means approximately four thousand students (and assorted faculty) are navigating throughout the building – all at once.
While classes last 45 minutes each period (except for third period, which is 50 minutes), the time reserved for passing in between periods is a mere four minutes. While not optimal, several teachers have claimed that it is possible to navigate across the school within those meager minutes. Keeping this in mind, we must ask: What’s the best possible route to get to class?
Before you even leave your class, the best thing you can do is prepare to leave. This doesn’t mean packing up while the lesson is still going. Rather, it is good enough to put away anything unnecessary during the last minutes of class. It’s also a good idea to make sure your work is finished as soon as possible, giving you any possible extra time to sort your things and be ready to leave. So when the bell rings, you should be able to slip your books into your bag, get up immediately, and make your way out.
Exiting your class can be a different experience based on your location, and it can severely affect your route. If your class is located in a regular hallway, it may depend on your proximity to the stairs and if students are already passing by your classroom. When you leave, you might be inclined to immediately go for the closest staircase, which could get you directly to class. Sometimes it’s better to go for a lesser-used staircase across the hall to avoid the traffic, depending on where your next class is located. It is important to have a couple different routes in store in case anything happens that blocks you from using your usual path. Make sure to experiment with your routes and see if you can still make it to class on time using different directions.
The most crowded areas of the school are usually the third-floor bridge and the first-floor staircases down to the cafeteria. A large number of people are entering and exiting through these passages throughout the day. If you’re in a hurry, these staircases might still be the most efficient, but keep in mind that there’s no time to stop on these stairs. The third floor is unique in that there’s only one bridge with a small set of stairs leading up to it. This makes it difficult to hurry through, especially when people are going to a specific classroom on the bridge. To adapt, it is important to be able to slip between people and keep close to the wall.
The modules pose a trickier challenge when it comes to entering and especially exiting. While you can simply descend the staircases that lead down to the modules, that is not an option when leaving. More students are entering through those staircases, leaving only one path through the courtyard. After going through the exit and trekking up the stairs to the back entrance, you then must navigate through the first floor, which can prove difficult during the height of passing. Going from the modules to the third floor on time can be nearly impossible. In such cases, the best thing to do is to take shortcuts through the second floor and go directly up before navigating to your class.
While four minutes seems barely enough time, it can be if you try to make the most of it. Sometimes you have to use unconventional pathways to avoid traffic or brave crowded corridors to get to class. While it might be harder if you are going from the modules to a classroom on the third floor on the other side of the building, it can still be accomplished through trial and error. The staircases are the hubs of transportation, so pick whichever one and use it wisely. Be as direct as possible in your routes and make sure to try different paths on your way to class. If you keep on with a good enough pace, you might even get there early.
