Opinion: Students Deserve a Dedicated Study Hall

In order for students to improve academically and help students more effectively during school hours, Sunnyslope should incorporate a study hall period.
When students are at school, they develop independent skills.
According to Zoar Shteinbach, a teacher who works in tutoring services, when given an independent study hall, students “learn to rely on their own resources, find answers to their own questions, and ask for clarification from the educators whenever needed during their study time.”
To put it simply, if students are here in an academic setting, they might as well work on their schoolwork. It’s a great way for students to reduce the procrastination of homework or projects by actively completing them in school. It can almost feel like a reward to go home homework-free.
Some students have jobs and aren’t able to fully complete assignments on time without being stressed about it.
This would be the case for Junior Makayla Camacho, an upcoming model who teaches kids how to pose, walk on ramps, and help build confidence in the modeling industry. There can be days where her job requires her to miss school in order to do photoshoots, travel, or runways. According to Camacho, a study hall gives “students time to catch up on work or just get organized instead of falling behind.” When asked about how it would work in her schedule, she told New Views that “it would actually help me stay on top of schoolwork.”
The need for a study hour can reduce stress levels amongst students who manage both school and professions. This means going through weeks in a stress-free mental state while focusing on other important activities outside of school.
Others have expressed that study hours are pointless, if most of the time students aren’t exactly using the time wisely. It could add 30 minutes onto people’s schedule that students and teachers alike deem unnecessary and not needed. Freshman Charis Iosefo spoke about her differences regarding advisory.
“[students] could [take] advantage if a study hall was within school hours,” Losefo said. An extra 30 minutes would also “interfere with some sport activities as well as just the overall day,” said Losefo.
Some Counselors also clarified that a study hall within school hours can’t be entirely possible due to scheduling an extra 30 minutes in everyone’s schedules.
Counselor Jason Robertson says that it would require funding for staff and can deeply affect elective classes if it were to count as a credit.
However, study-hall mechanics can work in practice as Wilson College Preparatory, a high school in the Phoenix Union, has this specific system in their daily school hours. Their system would consist of specific stamps that label students who are in need of saving their grade and students who are cleared and are able to spend that free hour in free-gyms or hang out around the school. This allows room for students to be tutored more daily and catch up on their classes.