Are Longer Class Periods Good or Bad for Students?

Mirabel Anderson, Ethan Abrams, and Katelyn Conrad • November 2, 2023

Lafayette High School bell schedule, can be found on Lafayette High School Homepage

Lafayette High School has a unique system for its classes. Each student’s classes are separated into two days, A-Days and B-Days. Because there are only 4 classes per day, it allows for longer class periods. The extended periods in which students are sitting in their classrooms raise the question of whether or not the longer periods are beneficial to students. The Lafayette Times interviewed Logan Gwynn and Isabella Dietzel on how they feel about longer class periods.

The Lafayette Times asked Logan Gwynn how he felt about the long class periods and if he struggled to focus the whole span of the class. Gwynn said, “Over a long period of time continuing to work on the same thing or continuing to listen to the same voice, you can get distracted and tired of it. To help with this, instead of shortening the school day or classes, the teacher could give a required brain break during class.”

Gwynn proves an excellent point because while some students may have a longer attention span, the average length of engaged focus for a teen is about 30-40 minutes, and class periods are much longer than the 40 minutes that students hold focus for. This brings awareness to the point that having longer classes is not always the best possible choice for students to get the most out of their time spent at school.

The Lafayette Times also interviewed Isabella Dietzel with the same questions to get a second perspective on the longer class periods. “I think longer class periods are good because you can learn more in one class span and also most of the time teachers will give you time to complete your assignments in class which could allow you to have little homework sometimes.” When asked if she has a hard time focusing for an entire class period Dietzel responds by saying, “I personally do not but I also have a pretty long attention span so I don’t really have to worry about that.” Many students second Dietzel’s perspective of the class times, saying that more can get done in one class period, rather than dividing one class into multiple periods.

Though it is our personal opinion that classes at Lafayette are much too long, some students may not struggle with focusing during long periods. Overall, however, many of the students at Lafayette would benefit from a break during class to rest and then go back to work with even more focus and good work ethics.

About the Contributors

Mirabel Anderson, Staff Writer

Mirabel Anderson is a sophomore at Lafayette and is writing for The Times for a second year. Her favorite genre of articles to write are arts and features. Outside of Journalism, she is involved in technical theatre and architecture. In her free time, she enjoys skating, baking, and spending time with family.

Ethan Abrams, Staff Writer

Ethan Abrams joins the Times as a staff writer and looks forward to bringing exciting stories to the public. He is a member of the Lafayette Choir, the Junior Beta Club, and the National Junior Honor Society. His interests include acting, reading, and archery. He is thrilled to be a part of the Lafayette TImes this year!

Katelyn Conrad, Staff Writer

Katelyn Conrad is a sophomore at Lafayette, and this is her second year writing for The Times. She is also a member of the Lafayette Student Council. Outside of writing, she enjoys listening to music, baking, and running for the Lafayette cross-country and track team. Katelyn is excited to be a writer for the Lafayette Times again this year.