During the 2020 school year students have seen lots of different forms of learning and now we are finally to the phase where most students are back doing full school days every day of the week, but this may not be a good thing. Now that school ends at 3:30 students have less time to do homework and teachers have less time to plan lessons and grade students’ work. 

At the beginning of the school year when most of the students were forced to learn online because of coronavirus the school day would end at 2 o’clock so that students could go to office hours with whatever teacher they wanted to get extra help. Since schools have started full face to face learning again they have ended office hours and now the school day goes all the way to 3:30 and there are no office hours. 

This structure of school is worse for both students and teachers because it does not allow anyone to work at their own pace and get one to one time that they need. 10th grader Jim Howry said, “Teachers are given more time to plan for the next day along with with being able to have the time to connect with more students 1-1.” This allows a more personalized learning experience for the students that need extra help without them having to find time in their busy schedules to get the help they need. 

With office hours students can also get extra help on their homework instead of having to ask questions the next day in class. When students were in online school they could go to office hours and ask questions and get one on one, so they could better understand the material they were learning in class and do their homework more effectively. 

The designated office hours time was always a good time for students to get their homework done before it gets too late. Taryn Peebles, sophomore, said, “With the after school office hours it allows students to finish their work on their own time and allows them to not feel stressed.”

Finding time to do homework can be a huge stressor for high school students and can contribute negatively to their mental health. This is especially true for the many student athletes at Roswell. Sophomore Emma Stokes said, “It [school ending at 2] is especially helpful for student athletes so we can get our work done before going to games or practices and not have to stay up super late afterwards trying to finish all of it.” 

As freshman Lelani Lee transitions into high school as a freshman she also feels this way. She said, “I have sports, school, and drama. I barely have time to eat and do my homework.” The extra hour and a half allows students with extracurricular activities to get their work done easier and be more focused on learning from their work instead of rushing through it just trying to finish it super late at night. 

It is not only students that benefit from the added office hours, but teachers do as well. The added time gives teachers a set time to work on lesson plans that will better benefit their students and grade their students assignments.

When I asked Dr. Mazur, an RHS  chemistry teacher, if she appreciated office hours she said, “Yes.” She went on to say, “It was very beneficial in that it allowed one on one or small group discussions and help sessions in a totally safe manner. It also provided both students and teachers with valuable class preparation time.”

Overall everyone benefits from having office hours in the afternoon, instead of synchronous learning ending at 3:30. Sophomore Ellery Eicher said, “When we end at 3:30 we just have a lot of extra time… It worked really well when we ended at 2:00 pm.” Both teachers and students can use this extra time to get work done in a more timely and productive manner which will improve everyone’s school experience and reduce stress. 

To read more about how students feel about going back to school full time read katie’s article

To read more about student’s stress during the pandemic read maynor’s article