In February, students were asked to fill out a survey about the potential for study hall for next school year. People were left scratching their heads about the idea of study hall and had many questions left unanswered due to the vague idea the school proposed.
As of right now, the proposal is cloudy and not much is known about the time of day, the length, and whether or not there will be topics discussed at these sessions. “Currently we are in the preliminary stages of collecting data to determine what will work best for Wootton,” 11th grade administrator Tiffany Awkard said.
Most students who go here have gone to middle schools with a study hall or something similar. Some high schools in Montgomery County have a study hall already, and the staff has visited schools with them to see how the schedule works. “We have a committee that reviews data from observations of other schools as well as student and staff voice data from Wootton and will work out all the logistics once we decide if this is the direction we plan to go,” Awkard said.
If study hall is to be implemented, it is likely it would act almost as a second lunch. The study hall poll had boxes students could check off if it was something they would use this time for like doing homework, talking with friends, looking through social media, taking a nap, and other things students do during their lunch period. “I feel like it is a good idea in theory, but students will just use it to socialize and use their phones,” freshman Logan Simmons said.
With the limited knowledge of what the schedule for next year would look like with this new addition, it is difficult to know whether the announcement time following first period, every class period or lunch would be shortened to make this accommodation. No matter what period they shorten, opinions will differ about study hall. “I think it’s a good idea, I had it when I was in high school and I did use it,” history teacher Keith Yanity said.
Another aspect of study hall is not known is the classroom in which it would be held. Whether you would go to your first period teacher, homeroom teacher or have a teacher assigned to you just for study hall is still a mystery. “I feel like I would want a teacher as my study hall teacher that taught a class that I am struggling with,” freshman Vanshika Garg said.
While the study hall idea isn’t necessarily a bad one, questions remain if the current schedule has problems. Is this change due to the overwhelming amount of stress felt by students? Are students failing to complete their work due to their busy schedules? “I’m not really sure when I would like to have study hall, I could see it happening at any time of the day,” Simmons said.
