The Mid-Year Meltdown

We’ve all been there. You’re sitting at your desk in a 90-minute fifth period class after a long and busy week, but your mind is still at home, in your cozy bed, dozing off. You want to listen to the lecture, or maybe you just want to want to listen, either way you’re sure it’s important, but the class isn’t even halfway through, and you can’t help but close your eyes, just for a second…
Nearly every student can relate to feeling spaced out or sleepy in the middle of a 90 minute period. With all the work students take on all while fighting sleep deprivation makes it so even a light day can feel like an uphill battle. With 90 minute periods it can be difficult for overscheduled students to stay awake and maintain their focus in order to comprehend the material learned during a long lecture.
As we hit the three-quarter year mark of the school year, student and teacher exhaust is increasingly more apparent. With just a couple days before a week-long break it’s clear the stress and exhaustion of full workloads and lives outside of school can easily impede learning inside of it.
While this one week break is much needed and well deserved, one week breaks should not be the only break that students are focused on within the remaining portion of the school year. To make the rest of the year less stressful, Piedmont should mandate breaks during block periods. Studies have shown repeatedly that the pros of supplementary breaks outweigh the cons. For example, one study published in Sozialpolitik found a significant positive correlation between supplementary breaks and overall productivity that negated the impact of time lost.
The end of the year can be a stressful time for students with upcoming AP tests, standardized tests like the SAT or ACT, finals and more, and with all that added stress this can make long periods even more overwhelming. Taking a quick break or two within these long and packed days might alleviate some of the stress and pressure many students are feeling.
The district and teachers have the ability to facilitate a positive break environment in which students may briefly leave the classroom or stretch or chat with friends. Teachers should work short rest periods into their lesson plans individually to avoid inconvenience and disruption of learning but these breaks must become standard within the high school.
A block period, while designed and structured to enhance our learning, can often feel like a marathon with no water break in sight. Adding structured breaks within these sessions could provide that much needed pit stop, allowing us to take a breath and refocus and return to learning energized and ready to tackle the challenges ahead.