Fifty minutes seems like a solid amount of time to get work done, doesn’t it? It seems that the time allotted for each study hall period is enough to knock out a large majority of the night’s work. So, why is it that most students do everything else besides study in their study halls, and then complain about the amounts of homework they have? The trend of students using their study halls for anything but studying is only increasing at Central.

Many teachers believe that study hall is used for a productive reason and that students get work done during study hall, but this is not actually the case. After interviewing twenty students currently in study hall throughout the day, only seven students discussed actually working. A large majority of the students admitted to wasting their time throughout the fifty minutes. Many of the students discussed going to the cafeteria to get food, sitting around with their friends, watching Netflix since it is now allowed on the school Wi-Fi, or taking naps.

“Why should someone do work when they could be having fun with their friends,” said Olivia Jeannin, senior.  She discussed the fact that most students only do work about one day a week, and do other things besides study for the other four days.

Study Hall is a class that a large majority of students take even though it is not required. The study hall system is structured so that any student can take study hall at any time of the day. Study halls during periods 1,2,3,9, and 10 are held all over the school, such as in Room 12, the Film Room, and the Cafeteria. During the lunch periods, the study halls are limited to the rooms in the basement. Throughout any study hall period, students are allowed to go to the library or computer labs to work on the computers if they need to type up an essay or print something. Another benefit of the study hall system is the ability for varsity athletes to opt out of PE during their season to take a study hall. This allows the students to finish their schoolwork during the day so that they do not have to work after practice since they are so busy in the evenings.

“[I love] the fact that I can opt out of PE and take study hall to get work done so that I don’t have to worry about too much to do after practice every day,” said varsity tennis player Shaan Shukla, senior.

Study hall is a class implemented around the entire country since the National Education Association declared the option for study hall to be available to all students in 2001. Around the country, “82 percent of schools have at least 75 percent of the students enrolled in some sort of study hall, whether athletic or not,” according to NEA official Donna Mirabelli. Results have shown that the students enrolled in a study hall period are more successful in their schooling, whether it is because of their ability to get work done or their period of rest during the school day so that they can be fresh for the rest of the day.

In all fairness, it does seem acceptable for students to take a break in the day if it will help them stay focused for their afternoon classes. Study hall period 6/7 student B. Daves said that he “relies on the afternoon study hall to take a good nap so that he’s fresh and ready for his afternoon classes.” This seems to be a strategy used by many of the students enrolled in study hall at Central, and if it’s working for them then why stop them? It seems to me that this would only diminish the success that the students have, which we should definitely not do. For now, we should let the kids nap during their study halls. After all, who doesn’t like a good nap?