The study hall bell rings at 11:30 a.m., class is over, what do you do? Students are using this time for a range of tasks. Some use this time to work on assignments for other classes, while other students are using it as a time to socialize. This is a new change from last year’s “flex time,” but it is unclear to students if the change is only in the name or also in the meaning.
Study hall is attached to the second period of the day, before lunch. This is different from last year, since “flex time” was after lunch. The change in attendance during study hall has been noticed by many. Teachers have reported that their classrooms feel fuller than last year during this unstructured time because of the fact that study hall is before lunch. Having a study hall after lunch caused students to just not come back for flex.
Students have also expressed the change in the dynamic of the classroom moving from “flex time” to “study hall”. The way that the teachers use this time has been observed, with some students saying it has changed since last year, and others saying there is no difference.
“I feel like it’s less strict than last year, but the pass system is stupid and doesn’t work.” Senior Evangelina Reed said. In a given week, Reed has culinary and leadership for her study hall periods.
“There is no difference from last time and my teachers pretty much let me do what I want.” Junior Reece Thompson said. He has German and APES for his study hall periods. Thompson said that he does homework in study hall only around 25% of the time.
“Flex was more strict. Last year my teachers took my phone and this year they don’t care as much. I just think it depends on the teachers.” Junior Finn Warner, who has German and US History, said. “I do work sometimes but most of the time I play video games.”
The overall consensus is that teachers have become more lenient with study hall time compared to last year’s “flex”, leaving this time up for students to decide what they need to get done during that time. Students feel that the pass system confuses them and makes it more challenging for students to use this time to move to other classes to make up assignments or get help. It is still unclear all the rules that come with our study hall periods.
