We’ve all been there; sitting in 3rd period quietly on our Chromebooks, waiting to hear that bell ring for those 30 minutes of lunch. It’s a feeling that may cause you to become restless, waiting in suspense with thoughts of walking to Taco Bell in your mind. But, before you can make that walk, you have to spend an extra 24 minutes with your HOWL teacher! Well, this is an everyday reality for many students at Buena Park. HOWL is meant to be a time of preparation, studying, and working. However, many students use their instructional time for reasons other than academics. Walking into a HOWL class to see a handful of students on their phones may not be a rare occurrence, causing some to believe these 24 minutes aren’t as effective as they seem. However, others may realize the impact this time period could have on students who use it correctly.
Students and teachers alike have varying opinions concerning HOWL. “I think that if there was structure for what exactly is supposed to go on in the classroom and every HOWL class was doing the same thing, it would be very helpful,” says English teacher Mr. Arnold. He is responsible for one of the various Freshman Focus classes on campus and shares how important HOWL’s structure should become. Structure is a “standard” that Mr. Arnold mentioned he would like to see in HOWL, whether it’s enforced this year or for the following 2024-25 year.
Furthermore, the mandatory nature of HOWL for these Freshmen students influences how some may feel on the topic. Freshman Gabriel Garcia states, “Even though HOWL could be kind of useful at times, I just don’t feel it should be mandatory for us.” Coyote freshmen have many requirements compared to upperclassmen, such as mandatory HOWL instructional time along with restriction to leave campus. Based on the words of Gabriel, some Freshmen could tend to dislike HOWL because they become forced to participate. This also may be the reason many students become accustomed to using electronics instead of unplugging their devices, since requiring this time may become much too much for Freshmen to keep up with.
But, for students that may struggle with grades or a specific subject, HOWL has shown to be fairly important. Heeson Park, senior and Distinguished Scholar on campus shared his feelings on this time. His perspective of HOWL is vastly different than a freshman’s would be. “I don’t have HOWL, so I don’t have to go to a classroom. I have extended lunch, which is really good for any academic things too,” says Heeson. In a sense, that extra time for him could also be used for additional studying or preparing for a class. This ultimately benefits Heeson and many other students to stay on track with their academics, which may be a motivator to maintain grades above a C. Also, the extra lunch time could be beneficial and fun as well!
Although there seems to be factors that could improve the overall HOWL program, these 24 minutes have shown to be effective. It truly lies in the hands of students and teachers alike to collectively make use of HOWL. Finding ways to continue helping students improve their grades is a top priority and a study hall period helps benefit that. If that means holding that walk to Taco Bell or Circle K for an extra half-hour is necessary, then so be it.
