By Vanessa Wu

Staff Writer

  Some students stay up past 12 a.m. to finish up homework or pull an all nighter to study for tests, causing them to be stress out. Embedded Time allows students to be in study hall, where they have time to catch up on school work and study for tests or take enrichment classes, where they can learn something new and interesting. Although having Embedded Time may require having longer periods, it should be implemented at Gabrielino High School to help students destress.

  Not only does Embedded Time allow students to catch up on work or take enrichment classes, students can also use that time period to get help from teachers in classes they’re struggling with or failing at. In addition, the periods are longer which means teachers can plan longer lessons and more get done during that time period.

  “I personally feel that it should occur more than twice a week,” stated senior Kevin Yan. “Embedded Time actually helped me a lot because it gave me time to finish my homework and to study. It took a lot of stress off my shoulders.”

  Instead of having 50 minutes in six different classes, students will spend around 80 to 90 minutes in four classes each day which could result in them focusing more and not worrying about other classes that day. Silver slips are available for students who wants to get help by teachers. They are more likely to be engaged in what they are learning and teachers can plan further ahead and implement more activities in class that can enhance their studies.

  According to a study at Jasper County High School in Georgia, the structure of Embedded Time improved job satisfaction and about 78% of students involved in the study passed the state exam compared to the 68% of students who pass the state exam but weren’t involved in the study.

  Taking enrichment classes instead of study hall is another way that can help students destress and not think about their academic classes. Gabrielino implemented classes that taught skills like coloring to destress, learning a new instrument, astronomy, coding, and playing board games.

  “I liked my enrichment class because the environment was very comforting and made me more interested in playing instruments,” stated freshman Paris Ma. “The class gave me a chance to learn something new and helped me destress because I don’t have to worry about other things in that class.”

 Teachers are also stressed as they have to create lesson plans for five different classes. However, Embedded Time allows them to have a free period for themselves. Whether they are teaching an enrichment class or managing a study hall class, teachers can use this time to catch up on their work or teach students something they are passionate about.

  “It was a little stressful, but it was worth it because I had an experience to teach coding and I enjoyed teaching longer classes,” stated statistics teacher Geoff Barraclough.

 Some students do not come to school because they want to avoid taking a test or they did not do their homework, therefore, Embedded Time should be implemented to see improvement of students. With Embedded Tome, students will enjoy having a free period learning new things or catching up on work.