S had a modified block schedule - 3 days of all classes, and 2 days of longer classes where you had 1/2 one day and 1/2 the other. In this format, there was one “access” period per week during the block section. This was a 1.5 hr period to do homework or you could get a pass to see other teachers for extra help. Obviously some socialized as well, but it would only be with those in that class (the access period was actually in a teacher’s class, determined by the subject before your access was scheduled).
My S actually did a lot of homework during access, sought assistance from other teachers, and made up missed exams. It was a good thing to have and he actually utilized it quite a bit.
BTW, my kid really liked the block schedule and wished it was full time - it allowed teachers to dig deeper and have good continuity.
I said that “I” played some thump football, did homework, and did read the paper every day. Personally, I think every student should be given a newspaper every day and 30 minutes to read it. Virtually every thing in it is educational.
With that said, my son is taking five AP classes, one of them being a two-period class. He also has German III. He needs the study time. My personal opinion is that every student would benefit from some blocked off study time, and the staff is going to be paid anyway. It doesn’t cost any extra.
That is impossible. I know of no teachers/high school staff that will work for free, at least in California.
Nothing wrong with table football (as we called it); reading the paper is highly recommended. But, my kids do their home work, at, wait…for…it: home!. If they can leave at 2:30, why should they – and the staff – stay until 3:30 for ‘study hall’?
(Yes, teachers and staff may still be in school, but they are doing their own ver of study hall, i.e., curriculum planning, and grading papers. Others are in staff/team meetings, and unavaiablel to babysit.)
In our district there are 8 periods if you include lunch. Study hall is an option for everyone.
My children never took a formal study hall period, however, they did benefit from a “gym dispensation” jr and sr yr.
At our high schools, if a student is on a varsity level team junior and/or senior year, the student can go to an academic study hall during their gym period while “in season”. It was fantastic!
study hall is mandatory sophomore year in my school, but everyone even the valedictorians/salutatorians have one junior and senior year as having a rigorous schedule requires a break.
The local high schools are open campus, so if you have a free period you can certainly use the library. There is also a class which is effectively a study hall for students who’ve had grade/attendance problems.
No study halls here. If there were, they would have to make them mandatory because the more competitive kids would just cram another AP class in that block. Since we do not have them, I think most of our AP teachers keep the homework to a reasonable level.
The number of students in a high school is constant regardless of which classes they take, therefore no extra teachers need to be hired to allow students to take a study hall. They need to simply be reassigned from the classes that no longer need a teacher into a study hall.
As for the comment about homework only being done at “home,” my personal opinion is that homework should be limited and students should be allowed to do as much as possible at school during supervised study periods. Nobody is asking any teacher to work extra hours. My kids certainly aren’t getting out at 2:30. It’s more like 4 p.m.
@gettingschooled said adding a study hall period would just result in lots of kids using the time to take another AP class. If they are willing to do the work, they ought to be allowed to. For my son, five AP classes are enough. He really felt he needed the study hall. He certainly could have added a sixth AP class, but chose to request a study period instead. I think lots of kids, including those taking only a couple or no AP classes, could benefit from a study hall.
Supervised study hall was an elective in junior high school way back when I was there. In high school, students had the option of taking up to 7 classes (in a 7 class period day). Ninth grade students could take 6 classes plus a supervised study hall, or 7 classes. Other grade students got unsupervised free periods if they took fewer than 7 classes.
@bluebayou like I said, our school has it during block schedules, and it’s the teacher from the class before that sits there for two periods (one to teach, one to supervise study hall). It is during a scheduled class period and I am in CA.
“from the comments, I can’t help but conclude that “block” scheduling is not a very good idea.” Block scheduling has its advantages. Our kids do their science labs in class. There is no extra period attached to science classes to allow time for labs. The kids have only 4 classes per day. That makes it easier to lug stuff around. It’s a lot less stress having homework always due the day after tomorrow than having homework for every class always due tomorrow, no matter if you aren’t feeling that well, won’t get home until midnight because of some EC or whatever. This is far more flexible. The large block of time is also much better for students who are doing something off campus during the school day. Students who are in very time-consuming ECs often do take a study hall. They’re still taking 7 classes.
The biggest problem is that kids cannot maintain attention for 90 minutes so some of that instructional time in a block schedule is being wasted
Some high schools now have a hybrid block schedule, where each class period meets for a normal class period three days per week and a double class period one day per week. This accommodates science labs and other in-class activities that take longer than the usual class period, though with the assumption that such activities are weekly or less frequent. Total class time is the same as the schedule of a normal class period five days per week.
My D’s high school requires study hall for freshman year, and encourages everyone, including college-prep kids, to take it for their next three years. They call it “seminar” though. I don’t know why, because it’s basically study hall, the way she described it. However, freshman year, they do take the kids to the library and show how them how to use it, and have some brief lectures/talks about study skills/time management, etc.
As a parent, I like it, because it gives the kids time to get some homework done before after school-stuff, and gets them them to bed at night, that much earlier.
Unfortunately, D did not have Seminar all last year, because she took AP Physics, which was every day of the week (they are on block scheduling) and that took up her Seminar space (she could’ve dropped Band but didn’t want to.) She really could have used the extra time, especially, with the Physics class…
My kids are on block scheduling (A day & B day) with 4 classes per day. There are not regular study halls at their HS but there are AP support classes for AP students. If you have a math or science AP you are automatically given a support block with your teacher. During this block they can take care of other things if they need to.
If a student wants an open block those are put it at the beginning or end of the day. The student is not allowed on campus during that time (come late or leave early).
Our kids had a modified block schedule but no study hall- they loved it. Instead of 6 periods per day, they only took 3 classes per semester but each was around 1-1/2 hour long. They switched classes each semester. They also had the option of taking a “0” period before school that was on a “normal” schedule for the whole year. They liked this because they felt they had time to get into subjects in depth w/o getting interrupted after 50 minutes. Also they were able to plow straight through certain subjects - my son finished Spanish 5 the end of his soph. year (he took Spanish 1 in MS).
We didn’t have study periods back in the 70’s either.
Thank goodness my son was not required to have a study hall. The only study hall he had in HS was his final semester when he had run out of classes he wanted to take. In middle school students were automatically encouraged to use one period for a study hall but son never did. He’s gifted and did not need to waste his time being more bored. He could have had higher grades if he had spent more time doing the busywork (for others it would have been learning how to do things but he caught it in one) and certainly goofed off enough evenings.
One size does not fit all. The best students should be able to handle a full load while most need time to get things done. Unfortunately most students do not actively study during that time period, or they could learn more and do better. But, that is the nature of being average- doing the average thing. I guess I was used to having a smart kid- I am amazed at how much time students reportedly spend on AP classes. I shudder to think what he would have done with classes geared down even further. btw- since his HS days the district seems to have improved their gifted programs even more. Accommodating the top students is as difficult as doing so for the slowest students- never a perfect fit. Plus, it costs money.
I agree that HOMEwork is meant to be done outside of class and that the school day should not be the only time a student spends learning/doing school work. Students would learn even less if it all had to be done during a school day. Think about it- your work day is longer than a student’s in school day (or teacher’s days would be even longer than yours) plus you have all sorts of daily living chores (bill paying, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning…) that children do not have.
It would be great if schools offered more before and after school services but those cost money- at the higher pay scale of teaching staff, not ancillary staff. Money you, the taxpayer, would need to pay even when your kids are no longer in school. Would you rather use that money for college? Do not give the argument that teachers get 3 months off in summer- their pay is low compared to others with similar college degrees. Teachers also do homework- their time is not restricted to in school time as many workers is only time spent at the workplace.
I had a study hall in 10th and 12th, mainly because there was nothing else for me to take. They really helped with getting homework done and extra studying for tests as well as just a break from the constant flow of information. I only had 6-7 classes periods each year, depending on which state I was living at the time, and still graduated with extra credits. My daughter’s school doesn’t have study hall at all. The district requires each student to fill every class period. They take 8 classes each year with a block schedule - 4 classes each day. They only need 28 credits to graduate, and most have 26-27 at end of 11th grade because some 8th grade classes are HS credits. Seniors can get early release and only have 3 classes a day, but that’s still 4-5 credits more than necessary for graduation. Yes, you can take classes for college credit, but sometimes you just need a break, which the school does not give at all. Even lunch is not really a break. You go with your 3rd block class, have about 15 minutes to eat, then back to class. The brain needs time to process information. Some students don’t want or need a study hall, but it should be available for those that could use it, especially when you are taking tough academic classes.
Schools in NY State still have study halls. When I worked in NC 20 years ago, no public schools had them. Determining factor appears to be teacher’s contract. NY teachers typically only teach 5 classes per day, while NC teachers taught 6.
@csdad that must have changed shortly after I graduated. I attended two schools in NC and we had 6 classes per day, but teachers had 5 classes and one planning period.