Since March of 2020, Titans have been subjected to grueling and neck-bending online school hours. Needless to say, this needs to change.

With many schools in San Diego shortening class periods to end the school day at 12:30, they are ensuring that students spend a limited time staring at their screens for the sake of education. It’s truly a wonder that Poway High hasn’t made the same choice. 

Over the course of the past year, many Titans have complained about eye strain and the wretched tech-neck, a painful neck strain that develops from looking down for too long.

The time spent on our screens is far too high, and scientists even recommend limiting teens’ educational screen time to two hours a day, with the exception of homework.

Many perks can come with ending school earlier in the day, one of which being students paying better attention during class.

When our classrooms are our beds or desks, it is very easy to get distracted or bored as time goes on. Because of this, students often turn to their phones or other activities to relieve themselves of that boredom. Many of us occasionally fall asleep too.

However, if the school day is shortened, students will have less time to give in to their disinterest.

Many students also struggle with balancing their personal lives and school with the current schedule.

Titans have voiced their concern in regards to getting school work done during the day while still having time to themselves. With the current schedule and teachers piling on assignments, students often become overwhelmed and are left with little to no time to unwind or accomplish personal goals for the day. Titans have expressed interest in the 8-12 schedule that other schools in San Diego have adopted.

Finally, most teachers do not even take the whole hour to finish up their lectures, which means that there is a gap of time which wouldn’t be there if schedules were shortened. Many students even prefer to finish the classes earlier on in the day and have the rest of the day to do assignments.

With students becoming increasingly burnt out and tired, a shorter school schedule that allows for more personal time during the day would allow for significant improvement in academic performance and, most importantly, mental health.

In short, the modification of the current school schedule to one that begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 12 p.m. would help students perform better in their classes. Besides, students have much more to worry about (aka a pandemic) than staring at a computer screen for 6 hours a day.