Advantages Of Open Lunches

Open periods and open lunches are something almost every underclassmen looks forward to, as only juniors and seniors can benefit from these privileges. This is how T.F. Riggs High School has worked for many years. Open lunch means that students have the ability to leave during their lunch period; an open period means students do not have a class during a certain period and have the option to leave the school during that period. Students can lose their open privileges if they have failing grades at midterm or at the end of the quarter. Underclassmen should have the option to have opens as long as they can keep their grades up. If every student in high school had an open, some might not be able to keep on top of their grades because when students are given the choice to leave school for an hour, most take that chance; therefore, students are not forced to sit in a study hall where they are expected to do homework. When students have the choice to leave, most use the hour to do nonproductive tasks, unlike when they have a study hall and are required to be in a classroom getting their homework done or at least doing something productive. Not being required to have a study hall can negatively effect students who do not have the

Having opens might make the days less stressful and give them more free time if they have a job or an activity after school. Also, students may be getting little sleep at night because they have too many responsibilities, such as a job, a school activity, or a lot of homework. Teenagers need nine hours of sleep at minimum, and getting no sleep can take a toll on their bodies. Sleep deprivation can cause mental health issues and problems concentrating. The access to an open period may let them go home and take a short nap, or allow them to go to bed earlier and get their homework done during the open