OPINION by Lexi Allen

Is a full time study hall necessary in a student’s daily schedule, or should we have more students in classes if they don’t use their work time in study hall beneficially?

Most students use their study hall as a down time in between classes or to get a break from their school work.  Other students are more productive and use their time wisely during their study halls.   The students that use their study hall time know that they won’t have time to do their homework later, or they might use study hall to lower the amount of homework they will have.  I personally try to work during my study hall time, so I can relax when I get home and I don’t have to worry about homework.  What student likes homework?

A group of teachers is concerned that study hall is more of a time where students don’t do their homework and sit around on their cell phones.  They believe that if a student isn’t using their full time study hall, they should be in another class.  Several teachers think students should only have a study hall on the opposite day of their gym class. But is this fair to the students that actually use their study hall time?

In my opinion, students should at least have the option of a full-time study hall during junior and senior years.  Freshmen and sophomores are just entering high school, and this is when they should take a full class load to get as many credits they can.  If a freshman has a daily study hall, what is that good for?  Juniors and seniors have less of a class load but harder classes, such as college courses with more homework.  Students in the junior class have told me if they didn’t have a study hall, they would have more than two hours of math homework to do at home.

To resolve this problem, what can we do?  Should students be selected for study hall, or is this considered to be unfair?  It would be upsetting to not be voted into the study hall if you really needed it.  Some people’s opinions have varied about the situation.  Most students say it’s necessary to have a full time study hall and think there is no problem with study hall.  Some other people think it would be necessary to be examined by multiple teachers on how you use your study hall time.

I believe we should keep the study hall the way it is.  If students wanted to take other classes, they would have taken them.  It is the student’s option what classes they take for their graduation.  A student should be at a responsible age to decide whether they need a full-time study hall or if they should be in another class.  What is your opinion?