Do Colleges Have Homerooms? Read on to know more…!
What Is a Homeroom Period?
A homeroom period is a free period given at the beginning where administrative documents are submitted, attendance is marked, announcements are made, students are prepared for other extracurricular activities, and they are allowed to plan for that day. Homeroom periods are usually seen in middle and high school, however, colleges do not have a homeroom period. Activities done in the homeroom period differ depending on the country and the specific school.
Homerooms in Afghanistan:
In countries like Afghanistan, homeroom teachers have a huge responsibility to the students. At the start of the day, homeroom teachers make sure that the attendance of all the students is marked, and each student has received relevant textbooks and notebooks.
Homerooms in Argentina:
Schools in Argentina do not have the concept of homeroom periods, but they have something called a ‘form period’ (a 15-30 minute time given before and after lunch). Some private schools only offer one period. During this time, students are to learn a new language, prepare for high school entrance examinations, take part in extracurricular activities and do project work.
Homerooms in Australia:
The homeroom period in Australia is quite similar to that of the United States of America, but only some schools follow this. Some schools do not have homeroom at all. All the important announcements will be there on the bulletin board. While the other schools follow the American culture. In Australia, synonyms of homeroom periods are admin, GEL, form-period, roll-call, etc.
Homerooms in India and Pakistan:
In countries like India and Pakistan, the homeroom teacher is the class teacher. They mark the attendance of the students, encourages the students to take part in non-academic activities, teach the importance of healthy food and sanitation, and distribute administrative documents.
Homerooms in Japan:
In Japan, a homeroom teacher is usually considered a second parent. Students are taught to do duties like cleaning the classrooms, not-taking and classroom organization, and associating competitive events between homeroom classes. Student often eats their lunch during homeroom period. In some Japanese schools, students are allowed to sleep for a while.
Apart from these, students in homeroom periods are made to do a lot of worksheets and projects to improve their academic skills. The academically weak students are made to sit with high achieving students to help them with their studies during this time. In some schools, the students are also made to do morning yoga and teach the importance of physical health.
Why There Is No Homerooms In Colleges:
In most colleges, self-development things like homeroom periods are not observed since it is believed that they are already molded well before getting into a college and are also expected to be mature in their thoughts. The main motive of the homeroom period is to bring out the talents of all students, make them courageous to face the future, be systematic in their work, be productive, and build a good personality overall. A student should be fully aware of the importance of the homeroom period in their school life and should prepare themselves for further studies. Colleges are always known to be a place for career development. Personality development should be done during school years.
Moreover, college students do not have enough time to waste on such silly activities done in homeroom period. By the time when a student reaches college, he/she will be a self-sustaining adult and will be busy handling work and studies together. The introduction of the homerooms in colleges will be considered a drag by most of the students and there will not be any active participation. So it is due to all of these reasons, homerooms is not seen in most colleges and universities.
Quiet Period In Colleges:
In some colleges, a practice called as Quiet Period was introduced where the essential spaces such as bathrooms, laundry rooms, living rooms, courtyards, and large study rooms will be opened for individual study purposes and other essential activities. The activities done in Quiet Period includes,
- Researching in lab
- Indulging in outdoor activities
- Spending casual time outdoor
- Going out to eat
- Going to healthcare centers
Should There Be Homeroom Periods In College?
One of the most important things which completely diminishes once a student goes from school to college is communication. In colleges, students are most likely busy with their work and responsibilities. This makes them less interactive and gloomy all the time. Education is not just received from books, it is also acquired from gathering all the opinions and ideas from people around us. Therefore, it is very important to have a community to generate ideas, develop social interactions, and most importantly work toward a bright future.
Secondly, the life of college students is always monotonous. They go through the same schedule and workloads. Too much pressure will lead to many mental health issues. It is very important to spend some time with yourself no matter how old you are. Reading books, working out, discovering new things, writing, and interacting with people are some activities done to reduce stress. Keeping a time for evolving yourself and engaging in all stress-relieving activities should also be considered an important thing in colleges.
Lastly, homeroom hour always leads to discoveries. People think out of the box when they have ample amount of time to sit idle. For example, if a student takes an interest to find a new strain of bacteria, supporting them by encouraging their work and providing them enough time will thereby let the student focus on their research and brings out many discoveries. This will also result in the innovation of new methods and solutions to the problems which the majority of the face. Bringing out great inventions and discoveries will also lead to the development of the whole world. It will also increase the standards of living in the public.
Therefore, along with devoting your life to career goals and aspirations, take some time to think and act differently and bring out innovative changes in society.
