SLAS Times Q2 2019-2020 SLAS Times: Fall 2019 | Page 46

Universal Study Hall for High School Students
by Kyle Gumangan
A
s a junior who currently has study hall, I find it
useful in improving my mental and academic
states. Study halls exist in multiple schools, especial-
ly ones that have a six or eight-period schedule. This
short period in school is beneficial for students to re-
lax, study, work on college applications, or to review
lessons they didn’t understand with their teachers. a place of rest and independent work, students ben-
efit mentally and physically.
Instead of using study hall time appropriately, some
students may use it as a social media break. Accord-
ing to Rachana Rathi, staff writer of the Hartford
Courant, too much study time can “leave students
bored, unchallenged, and ill-prepared for college.”
Seniors can especially benefit from this block; they
should be able to use this time to talk with their
guidance counselor and work on their college ap-
plications. Seniors benefit from this use of time to
prepare for the following years of their lives. Anecdotally, most people I know say that one peri-
od is enough time to complete work without getting
bored. Since everybody works at a different speed, it
would be recommended to have a study hall period
for extra time to work.
In a recent article from The Atlantic, Kyla Wahl-
strom, a senior researcher at the Center for Applied
Research and Educational Improvement, observed
that students who rest more improved their grades
and standardized test scores. Using the study hall as Because so many kids complain about stress and
homework, it would be a good idea to promote
study hall as a universal period for all high school
students.