Senior Privilege: guardian of sleep, savior of student sanity, and vital safeguard against boredom. By the time most IACS seniors graduate, they will have turned 18 and will be legal adults. In addition, a hefty majority of students, even from Junior year on, are licensed to drive and have their own cars. Allowing students to sign out during free time like long pass, study halls, and lunch recognizes the maturity and independence of upperclassmen.
Especially at a time when the adoption of E-Hallpass, and the abandonment of half day Wednesdays in favor of structured school time sends a message to students that the school does not trust them to be independent, allowing seniors to freely manage their own time sets a valuable precedent.
In addition, this time gives students a multitude of opportunities. Students with a morning study block can take advantage of the privilege to get some extra sleep. On Wednesday mornings, any seniors that do not need to go to extra help can forgo the circus that is Student Hour in favor of sleep (a much more valuable use of time). Students also have the opportunity to tailor their schedule to their needs. A study hall one day could be dedicated to completing assignments, while another day a student could use the time to take a much needed break midway though the school day to go somewhere with friends, or just go for a quick drive.
Furthermore, the responsibility associated with picking where they go during free time throughout the school day helps students to build important work habits skills. Learning that sometimes the right choice is to stay in the library and get work done even if friends are going out somewhere is a vital lesson. These same skills will serve students well in college, or whatever they may choose to pursue after IACS, where the rigid structure of a day in high school suddenly disappears.
Students often have busy schedules in and out of school. Giving them the flexibility to portion their time how they see fit is valuable in enabling students to most efficiently optimize and manage their time and build their self direction skills.
