The rise of technology has really done one thing for all of us. It’s made it a lot easier to work from anywhere. We can take work home on disc or stick and we can sure as hell do it when we want to. Very few things, especially in the educational context, actually needs to be confined to a school or classroom.

In fact, as many technologic forerunners like to say, ranging from Mimi Ito to Don Tapscott to my boss to occasionally me, this new age in information ubiquity is all about life long learning. The availability of information allows for education and learning to be a constant, on-demand and no long stringently constricted by the availability of a teacher. The Internet allows for that small world syndrome to come to an apex, freeing all of us to learn what we want, when we want, and from who we want. And by extension, schools are somewhat reduced to rubber stamp organizations that commoditize the individual.

In theory.

But the same constructs that allow all of this information transparency and access also directly affects the constraints on non-educational things as well. Websites, services and games have all allowed for the space between people feel closer and less distinct. We can now access the activities of our friends, family and even neighbors via constructs such as, in no particular order, Facebook, email, Twitter, blogs, World of Warcraft, Second Life, SMS, Skype and instant messaging.

Indeed, the world has gotten smaller! WE CAN BE WITH OUR FRIENDS ANYTIME!

Yet, despite the spread of the newest of new technologies, the ’social’ of ’social networking’ remains poor facsimile of the real thing. Regardless of our social mannerisms and stature, the persona of our human existence is often warped and construed by the interpretation of the two-dimensional context of the Internet. The medium is inherently flawed and is not a substitute for actual face-to-face interactions and true social membership in a community. The medium is naturally dividing and allows for the detachment of the ‘real’ individual and the ‘online’ individual. Concurrently, the ’social’ component is inherently fueled by the presentation of the individual. The feedback, in turn, creates a pleasing response that fulfills the social hunger of the single person. Though it is hard to diminish or rate this interaction, it is a different type of social membership and community. But that doesn’t make it the primary… At least until we all evolve into machines.

Enter study hall.

Study hall is a construct that is supposed to allow students to study during school hours. Naturally, it is open for students to freely interpret and select what they feel as optimum. And it’s no surprise that such hours, except in those times of duress (typically post-procrastination), this interpretation typically involves not doing a lot (procrastination!). Though it is also available for group work, study hall naturally moves what is individual time typically outside of the school schedule into it. And this is where things begin to separate.

Despite the long, long twelve years of primary and secondary education, this time is actually a fairly short in the grand scheme of things. Yet, high school is barely four years and study hall is an even tinier speck of this spectrum. But this time in high school is also, what I believe to be, strongly formative in the lives of many students. And study hall wastes this time. Time that school can create communal and social participation.

As mentioned above, schools have become somewhat marginalized with the rise of information ubiquity. But no social construct has usurped its place as an organization that can organize and bring together similarly aged groups of people, especially youth. Regardless of the overall efficiency of the educational structures themselves, schools act as a hub that can allow for strong academic collaboration and facilitate the healthy growth of the youth. Schools also enjoy place in many societies as places of learning and a status of pseudo-sanctity. It is these qualities that we cannot ignore nor squander. Schools need to be efficient and have it so students can exploit every single moment they get to be with their peers while manipulating the increasing deluge of information.

Study hall flies into the face of this, wasting time that can be used to collaborate in the real world. And this is without considering the fact that students are busier than ever and have less real time to spare outside of the school day. Naturally, one or two hours of freedom is probably not a bad thing, but it is subject to the typical laws of diminishing returns. Technology allows for individual time at home to be enriched with the strength of community and face-to-face time, but let’s not waste the real thing when it’s available. When it all comes down to it, Facebook Groups do not replace band and student council nor teach how to organize events and negotiate rent. Let school be where students get real social experience.