Editorial: Eighth graders need a study hall

Eighth grade students head to school and go through the day, going to each class, but as the periods go by, the pile of homework also adds up more and more. They get home without much time to complete it because of their activities, so they’re left to scramble trying to finish it in the morning before the bus makes it to school.

Situations like these are common in most eighth graders’ lives. They can be easily prevented if we just had some extra time, which is why our school should add a study hall.

Students always have numerous extracurriculars they go to, and most take place after school leaving kids with almost no time to finish their assignments. Eighth graders have it even worse since sports become more serious at this time and kids in National Junior Honor Society have extra tasks to complete. These take up a large portion of time, therefore adding some time at school just to work would greatly help us.

Juggling these activities with homework added on can be very stressful to students. A study done by the American Psychological Association shows that 83% of teens have school as their leading stressor, which was higher than any other stress factor. Adding a study hall would help in reducing anxiety and stress students face while also giving them time to unwind in between all the madness of the school day.

These study halls would also be beneficial for our learning later in life. A study hall could help teach us the importance of time management in our lives. Time management is necessary throughout most of life and especially in college that many struggle with so being taught how to manage our time now is more favorable than later. Another skill it could teach us is the importance of taking a break. Sometimes we get so caught up in work that we don’t stop, but that’s more harmful than good. According to an online article by the Cleveland Clinic, a break can actually help students do better later in the day in boosting their performance by increasing their moods and even concentration. A break in our school day would be most similar to a study hall so it would offer the same benefits and increase our learning in school even more.

Others might say though that students aren’t mature enough to have a study hall and would just goof off all the time. Yes, maybe some kids would; however, that’s why we would just limit the study hall to eighth graders because they show they can be mature enough. Also, if you have piles of homework and are busy, I don’t think you’re gonna use the only time you have to work to just have fun.

The best time for a study hall to be added would be during Leader in Me so as not to disrupt important class time. The study hall could also only take place on Tuesday and Thursday so we can learn from Leader in Me the other days.

A study hall would be desirable for our school for extra time on assignments, reducing stress and teaching us valuable skills for life.