Moment of silence provides focus

Many schools around Illinois have been affected by a new law of having a brief moment of silence. Being a student at Conant High School, I am also affected. Even though this is a new law in Illinois, this was not my first experience with it.

I moved to Georgia over the summer and went to school there for about a month. In Georgia, all the schools have a moment of silence. The students and the teachers at the school I attended took this time seriously and sincerely. The teachers were not allowed to take attendance but they were to just sit and reflect on the day they were about to face. The students were not allowed to do homework or talk. They were to just sit and also reflect and prepare for the day that was ahead of them. Going through that made me realize that having the moment of silence does help the students and the overall environment.

It is true that most students around the world are very busy and lead very hectic lives -- starting from getting up early to come to school to going to after-school activities, then to doing homework. The moment of silence gives students time to reflect on the day that is ahead of them and it will help the students focus more. Let's not look at this in a negative way as just wasting our time but in a positive way and use it to our advantage.

Sarah Pyun

Schaumburg