Pro:
Studying for school is important, a majority of people could agree with that. However, taking breaks from it is equally as important. Putting one’s mind through a lot of stress and pressure without giving it any opportunities of relief can seriously damage a person’s mind and mental health. “Taking breaks allows your brain to rest and recharge, which will improve your concentration and help you retain more information.” College49 from Quora said. Refusing to rest one’s mind can result in a lack of understanding material, leading to an absence of knowledge in a subject; therefore, making it extremely important to ensure that the brain gets a chance to rest from consistent efforts. Even if you do take breaks, taking breaks that are too short do not make much of a difference either. Resting one’s body for an appropriate stretch of time makes the difference the body might just need. If your body can take a break from doing something, why should your brain not be able to?
Con:
An hour of free time during the school day may be a great idea, in theory, but this break may cause issues with students’ learning abilities. If students have this break in the day, it may not be as beneficial as we think.
Students who take extensive classes and have piles of homework need time to do all their work. An extra class offered in high school is study hall. Study hall is when students can take time to finish assignments or get the break they need. Study hall is a nice class to add to your schedule without interrupting your well-needed learning time.
“Many of the extensive changes policymakers and education reformers are suggesting to improve public education,” said the Education Week website. “Personalized student learning, fair testing practices, social-and-emotional learning—rely on teachers to carry them out.”
If we implement a break within each school day, we are removing valuable learning and teaching time away from teachers who have extensive lessons. The break in the middle of the day can disrupt teachers while they teach. It can also lead to teachers being unable to go into detail with various lesson plans.
This break of free time may feel as though it is not a lot of time taken away, but it cuts working and learning time for both students and teachers. Students have other options if they prefer a break within their schedule that does not take away from others who want to learn and work on their assignments.
