Study hall is at times the most diverse class of the day. You could rest, do homework, have a brain break; anything is possible. Students are constantly in a rush to go, go, go, and study hall is an important part of the day to take a break from it all. The question arises: Are students truly using the study halls to the best of their capabilities?

From helping working students manage their schedules to helping people reset after a long morning of classes, study hall is an essential part of the day. Even though many people question the value of study hall and its importance in the school day, critics arguing that study hall could be replaced with increased class time and school work, that could not be farther from the truth.

At Norwin, study halls are invaluable to the students. According to a recent Norwin journalism poll, 72 percent of Norwin students that took the poll believe that the value of study hall was a “perfect 5 out of 5” and study hall “helps me out a lot.”

For many underclassmen, study halls are every other day in place of a science lab. Students can also take a study hall as an elective class. The convenience of study hall allows students to take the classes that they want without the crushing burden of homework as well as helping with projects from the science class before. Even though study hall takes the place of another class, it is just as valuable in terms of time spent.

“I think that one study hall a day is very beneficial to high school students,” said Katherine Kauffman, the Norwin librarian and overseer of the library study halls. “A lot of students are taking AP and Honors classes that take a lot of out of class time to complete, to master, so I do think having one study hall a day is very useful.”

Furthermore, the stress of working all day is alleviated by the relaxed air of the study hall. Some critics may say that study halls should be more heavily monitored with more rules, but the environment of the study hall actually benefits the students.

According to a recent poll at Norwin High, 90 percent of students that took the poll say that study hall helps them relax and destress from a long school day. Without a study hall stress from homework would overwhelm students.

Study halls help students with maintaining a steady schedule and workflow so they can continue with extracurriculars like work and clubs. While study halls could be replaced by more instructional time, students would not be able to have a balanced school life between school and extracurriculars.

“I am in so many other activities,” said Ava Bobby, a 9th grader who took the poll. “And it just really helps give me time to get all of my homework done without staying up late later.”

According to Randolph-Macon Academy, “By using this time to study or complete their work, students are able to learn in an environment that meets their academic needs and allows them to stay focused and become more confident.”

Although study hall has many benefits, there are a few problems with Norwin study halls, namely the Wi-Fi. Most study halls are held in the auditorium where the already glitched Wi-Fi gets even worse, hindering the iPads that most assignments are done on.

“There is no Wi-Fi in the auditorium add ons,” said Riley McIntyre, a 9th grade student that took the poll. “I can’t use my iPad for my assignments because of the lack of Wi-Fi.”

Even with these problems, study hall is still an invaluable resource to Norwin students; providing mental rest, homework aid, and so much more. Without study hall, life would not be able to run properly at Norwin High.

“This space is used for an awful lot of different things during study halls,” said Kauffman. “We have club meetings,during study halls,  we have teachers who send students down to do small group work, and the last couple of days we have students coming down to deliberate for a mock trial.”

Gallery • 3 Photos

Elizabeth Petteway

A graph showing students feelings about their study halls.