A lot of students here at Central Catholic have multiple hours of homework every night. This is a bigger issue for the freshmen more than anyone else since many are not  used to the high school work load and are only just learning how to manage their time. A simple way to fix this problem would be to add a study hall as an option for freshmen. Many freshmen agree and think this is a good idea. A study hall should be an option because a lot of students would benefit from and appreciate a study hall. This would help reduce the amount of homework (and stress) each night significantly.

A study hall period  is available for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. But freshmen aren’t given this option at all. The thinking is that there are too many one semester classes that need to be taken for a freshman study hall to be an option. During sophomore year, when some of these one semester classes are done,  you have the option to have a study hall period.

However, if students could take study hall instead of an elective or a one semester class this would both eliminate one class worth of homework and help them manage their time better to get the rest of their homework done. This is true for a lot of students across the grade as I discovered through interviews. Elise Margraff, a freshman here at Central, says of study halls, “I would have more time to organize myself and plan for what homework I’m getting done or how I’m going to balance work with different clubs or activities.”

In addition, if students had less homework it would give them an opportunity to get to sleep earlier and rest more each night. This would cause a positive chain reaction. When you get more sleep you will be more focused and that will lead them to do better overall. Students doing better in classes and on tests will raise overall school performance. Looking at it this way, giving freshmen a study hall would actually help the school.

It may not seem like a lot, but an extra hour to do homework each day would make a massive difference. On average a high school student has over two hours of homework every night. There are a lot of people who spend multiple hours a day in the library doing homework before going home and still have work to do later. Students would be able to get home earlier or socialize with friends if they had that extra time. Having a better sleep schedule would help with physical health and having a good social life can help with mental health. Emily Mise, a freshman here at Central Catholic, said she finishes homework around eleven at night on a lighter night. “On a normal night,” she explains, “I have work and after school clubs and commitments. I don’t get home until almost 8:30 and don’t start my homework until nine and I don’t finish until almost eleven. Having an extra hour during the school day before I even get home would help me tremendously. I would be able to get more done while I’m still focused on school.”

This leads me to my next point. Having extra time during the day to do homework is good because you are still focused on school work. Sometimes even going home will make you lose focus on what you’re doing. Being at school also means that there’s a smaller chance of losing focus. Being in a learning environment will keep you on task. Another bonus is often a teacher will be available to answer any questions that can’t be done over an email.

In addition to the study hall helping with the amount of homework, it can also help students choose how they want to study that day. A lot of students like to study in different ways. Almost everyone likes different strategies and study hall gives you that freedom of choice.

Mrs. Brown, an English teacher here at Central, offered her opinion on this topic, specifically how the option to take one semester classes over the summer could open up time in the schedule for a freshman study hall. When I asked her about this, she said, “Having options over the summer for summer courses is a great idea, as long as the course would be the equivalent of what is being offered during the school year, and we have the teachers willing to teach for that length of time over the summer. And considering the kind of students we have at Central who take their academics very seriously I think study periods would fill up fast.”

It would be nice for students to have this option. There are a lot of students who would rather take a half year class over the summer and have a study hall during the year.

It is understandable why administration does not give study hall as an option. There are a lot of possible problems that could come up. A sophomore brought up a good point. He said, “If someone is already paying [tuition], it wouldn’t make sense to take classes off of your schedule.” The concerns about having a study period as an option for students are valid, but there are solutions for all of them. If study hall was offered as a class there would be people who take time to specifically think of ways to satisfy everyone’s concerns and problems. If used correctly, there is a at least an hour of homework or studying that wouldn’t have to go home if students had a study hall.

I believe that having an option to take a study hall during freshman year would be a valuable resource and opportunity for all students, but especially since freshmen are adjusting to a high school work load and life. If study hall was offered as a class I know I would take it along with many other students.