“I can’t do it. I’m so stressed out.” Quizzes, tests, projects, extracurriculars — the list goes on for the endless papers that students work on throughout the day, and it becomes hard to balance. This is especially true at Westwood, where students’ stress becomes a particularly prominent problem as they strive to achieve excellence in both their academics and their extracurricular activities. Put in place this year, the new school policy called Flex Time will help solve this issue by giving kids a way to get their work done and take care of themselves during the school week. 

Flex Time is a 40-minute period carved out after first block where students have many options on how to spend their time. They can work individually in their assigned classroom, attend other teachers’ Flex Time classes, or join in fun activities. Using an easy-to-access system online called the Flex Time Manager, students can browse upcoming activities, see how many spots are left in each classroom, and learn more about different events during Flex Time. Students can access Flex Time Manager through their student Google account and can sign up anytime until the start of school at 9:05 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays are ‘academic flex’ days where students can finish homework, study for upcoming tests or quizzes, or just relax and take time for themselves during their otherwise chaotic day. Fridays are ‘club/interest group’ days where students can have some fun by participating in activities that interest them.

Every student has faced those rough days where nothing seems to go right. The days when there are numerous projects due, assignments that need to be completed, and tests that need to be studied for. Even a regular day at school can be tense. Each class is jam-packed with tasks, and there is homework, club activities, tournaments, and much more that students must attend to. All of these factors prevent high school students from taking a break and instead make their lives increasingly unhealthy and unhappy. However, Flex Time gives students a sufficient amount of time to get their tasks off the daily to-do list and unwind. Allowing the students to relieve themselves of stress-inducing assignments by getting them done and out of the way eases the load of responsibilities from school that weighs students down.

The flexibility of Flex Time also provides other benefits. Kids often need to attend tutorials for upcoming tests or makeup tasks, but after-school practices and club meetings take up the time slots for those tutorials. It is difficult to keep up in class on its own, but when tasks start to pile up, it makes it even harder to learn. If one doesn’t understand the basics of a unit in class, it hurts their ability to learn anything new. This is especially detrimental because learning is the purpose of school. When students feel lost in class, it just adds to their long list of worries. With Flex Time, students can “flex” into a teacher’s class and talk with them to catch up so they don’t feel the anxiety of falling behind.

Along with all the academic benefits, Flex Time is enjoyable. Flex Time on Fridays allows people to choose from fun activities that interest them. There are options such as board games, origami, yoga, and other diverse topics of interest which give students an opportunity every week to take time for themselves and relax by enjoying what they love to do. This is something especially helpful during school hours which are typically filled with studying. Having time for fun lets students take a break, recharge, and be ready to take on whatever else the day has in store for them.

There’s an epidemic of stressed-out and unhappy high school students. Not only is it hard to balance all of the responsibilities in and outside school, but it can feel like all of those obligations have a direct impact on the student’s future, so everything needs to be done perfectly. This mindset only snowballs to further burden the already hectic lives of adolescents and ultimately become a detriment to their mental health. Having Flex Time demonstrates that the school administration is addressing high schoolers’ concerns and helping us take some weight off of our shoulders. Life in high school is difficult, but having a policy that makes it easier is something we can all celebrate.