Why study halls are important

Students who participate in extracurricular activities and sports find the extra time gained during school advantageous as it allows them to review notes, finish homework, or catch up on missed assignments. If you do your work, it's beneficial, and if you goof around then you're just wasting your time," says Lindsay Strouse , a senior at Shelton High School. Those students who choose to work efficiently during there study hall find that they can get a lot accomplished.

Plus I can go to a teacher with questions or help. Other times, when I don't have homework, I can chill for a period and talk with friends. Even though I am not doing work, it is still beneficial to be able to relax. The atmosphere of a study hall is strongly depends on the teacher who is running it. Some teachers are keen on getting work done, and therefore, require silence. Other teachers may allow students to talk, even giving out hot chocolate or candy to their students. Other study halls let you socialize or listen to your iPod, but it's entirely up to the teacher's preference.

Basically, schools set time periods aside for students to do school work independently or receive help on homework. For example, students with a 7-period class schedule would only have 6 classes scheduled, and the empty slot would be a study hall.

Sometimes, students can get special permission to use the library or a computer lab to find books, research for a project, or write a paper. Meaningful homework is beneficial for student growth, so study halls are meant to help students have more time to get these assignments finished. This is the study hall that has been common for many years, and it offers independent time to work on assignments. Structured study halls have more specific outcomes and goals. The basis of structured study halls is that students are unable to complete work because they are overwhelmed, have poor time management, and lack inner motivation.

Frequently, teachers are available to help with difficult homework assignments or concepts that were just not fully understood in class. Some schools even have special tutors assigned to study halls to assist with whatever struggles a student may have.

These types of study halls are important; one study showed that about a quarter of middle-school parents in a school said homework was not completed because no one at home could understand and help with the assignment.

Sometimes, schools replace these with learning labs or advisory periods. Learning labs let students use this time to work with teachers or specialized tutors. It may be in the form of math labs or literacy labs.

Students may go regularly for a learning need or on a less regular basis for extra instructional help. This is beneficial for keeping teachers instructing in their area of expertise. It allows for better utilization of time and resources. Others are taking out daily study halls and adding in advisory periods.

These periods increase teacher-student interaction. They are designed in a way that helps older students navigate the demands of school by discussing learning goals and encouraging self-reflection. These periods may be shorter 20 to 30 minutes , but they increase intrinsic inner motivation and help students become more self-directed. This combats kids not doing homework in study halls by going to the root of the problem. Sometimes, schools combine these periods with floating or static unchanging, independent study halls or rotating learning labs.

This superintendent designed an effective advisory system, which you can read about here. This school in California is an excellent example of how structured study halls can work. The principal was concerned about the large proportion of missing homework assignments he saw. First, he increased parent and teacher involvement. He put the counselor in charge of communicating with parents and assigned teachers to before- and after-school study sessions. Although there are many pros to having study hall as a class, there are also quite a few cons.

The biggest downside of offering study hall is that many students will not take it seriously but instead, will spend the time on their phones playing games, watching Netflix or talking to their friends. Another con to a dedicated study hall involves time management. High school is a training ground for students to learn time management and better prepare for college. So, the argument goes, if study hall is an option, they will not learn how to manage their time properly, which may undermine their success in college.

Both positively and negatively, depending on the student. If a student takes the class seriously and uses their time wisely, they will most likely raise their GPA and get better grades. However, if they waste this precious time, their grades may decline. Overall, research has shown that study hall is more of a need than a want, as long as it is taken seriously and used correctly.