Restructuring the School day (Yes...this is different than the first...it is new and improved!)

Restructuring the School Day


Are you ever overwhelmed because you seem to have too much homework and not enough time to do it? Do you ever feel like you don’t have time to participate in all of you extra activities in addition to school? Do you feel as though you do not have enough energy to make it through the day? If these apply to you, I have come up with an ingenious plan to reconstruct the school day! My proposals are first, there should be a “Study Hall” class period, and second, we should have a longer lunch break. I believe that by making these small changes to the school day, it will add to our energy, and take away from our stress! To my doubting readers, you will no longer hesitate in agreeing with me. There would be many benefits that would come from reconstructing the school day. The first benefit that would come from making a longer lunch period is the students would have time to go out for lunch, so they could have a chance to get savory, mouth-watering, healthy food. Second, this longer lunch break would act as a temporary recess. Third, it has been proven that eating slower is much healthier for your body. The first benefit that would come from creating a “Study Hall” period is students would have more time to do their homework. Second, it could also free up another class period if a student chooses. Third, it would give the teachers time to get done what they need to. Obviously, one important benefit in this situation is time.

The first benefit that would come from making a longer lunch period is the students would have time to go out to lunch. Not only should we be allowed to go out for lunch because school lunches are fake plastic, rubber, and disgusting but also because they are very unhealthy. For example: school lunches consist of hamburgers, fries, macaroni and cheese, chicken and rice casserole saturated in fat, greasy broccoli and cheese with random hairs in it, cake chips, rubber hot dogs, expired milk, and unknown meat deep fried in grease and fat. If that sounds healthy or delicious to you, please feel free to eat school lunch. If not, you would agree with me that we should have more time to eat, so we could go home or to a restaurant and eat healthier, tastier food. This is not the only benefit that would come from having a longer lunch.

The second benefit that would come from extending the lunch period is that the break would act like a recess. Students could go home to eat and relax while preparing for the second half of school. At the same time, teachers could also be doing the same. They could take time to grade the students’ assignments, so they would not have to stay after school for that reason. While relaxing or getting things done is nice, we also should take advantage of this time to eat slower.

The third benefit is that we would have more time to eat our food. It has been proven that eating slower is much healthier for your body. Beside the fact that you have time to savor your flavorful food when you eat slower, statistics show people who eat slower get fewer stomach aches afterward, because everything that “didn’t agree” with you, has time to digest before actually causing sickness or illness. You also build a stronger body by eating slower, because your body has time to absorb the nutrients in your food. Not only are there benefits of eating slower, there are also consequences of eating too fast. Experts say, “If you eat too fast there is a major delay in feeling your fullness; therefore we tend to overeat, which contributes to weight gain.” Eating too fast can cause indigestion and heartburn. It can also weaken your digestive system, which leads to a weak immune system, which means getting ill more often. Most people do not realize how critical it is to take your time when eating meals, but it creates a healthier body, and less sickness. Creating a longer lunch is part of reconstructing the school, but not all of it.

The first benefit of creating a “study hall” period is that students could optimize this time to do homework, freeing after school hours to pursue other interests. Many students are involved in many after school activities, but do not have enough time for them, because of the demands of homework. Thus, the benefit of “Study Hall”: freeing up time after school, and significantly reducing the amount of time spent on homework at home, but not the overall time spent studying. During “Study Hall”, the computer labs would also be open so if students needed to use computers for homework, they could do so. Although this is an important benefit from creating “Study Hall”, it is not the only positive point.

The second benefit is it could free up another class period for those students who choose. Obviously, there are always some students who do not make good use of time that is given to get homework done, so they could choose to take another elective class during this time. This class would replace homeroom classes, and would not be required. The teachers would be available to answer any questions the students might have on their homework, and the students could also seek help from their peers during this time. This elective class would take place once a day at the end of the day at the same time for everyone, even though the students would be separated into many different classrooms. I believe that by creating “Study Hall” as an elective class, there would be a significant rise in grades, but this time would also help teachers, not just students.

The third benefit is the teachers could get the things done they need to. This would act as a “prep” period, for those teachers who choose to supervise “Study Hall”, instead of teaching a class. Teachers could take this time to grade assignments, so they would not have to stay after school for long hours.

In conclusion, restructuring the school day by creating a longer lunch period will be more convenient, and by taking time to eat, will create a stronger, healthier body, and will limit sicknesses. Also, reconstructing the school day by creating an optional “Study Hall” class period, will significantly raise the students’ grades, and will reduce the demand for spending countless hours doing homework at home.