Having a focused place to do schoolwork is a significant factor in producing high-quality work. For me, I know that I do not concentrate well at home. There are too many distractions, preventing me from being focused. I often turn to the Berkeley Public Library up the block from Berkeley High School. The Public Library requires no library card to enter and has a large teen room for students to study. Plus a quiet work section for people who need a silent place to lock in. After talking to Amiyah Love, a BHS freshman, I learned I am not alone in loving the Public Library. She loves the Public Library for its events and care, stating, “They do stuff they don’t have to do.” An example of this is “they have events going on surrounding the high school students, like having special events when we’re having (finals),” Love said.
Another resource is teachers’ office hours which are great to attend if you are struggling in a specific subject. Going to office hours can often be the wisest choice because your teachers will have more knowledge on the work you are doing in class.
We also have the library at school which is open after school until 4:30 p.m. William Bisanki, BHS freshman who utilizes the library daily, shared that “Sometimes if you don’t finish all your work, I feel like it’s good to come to the library, so (you can) catch up on work.” He also explained that a bonus about working in the library is that “They have books from like authors, from like all kinds of different backgrounds.”
Right across from the library is College and Career Center (CCC), which has college tutors for every subject. The CCC is open from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays. Lots of students go to the CCC every day. I talked to Abiy Afework, a BHS freshman who says that if he had to pick any place on or around campus to complete work he would choose the CCC. Afework, explaining why he likes it there, said, “My favorite part of working in the CCC is you can talk with the tutors, like, not only will they give you help, but like, if you wanna talk with them about school, (or) anything, they’re very friendly, genuine people, and they’re really nice.” Having kind tutors around is a great way to get help when teachers aren’t available.
Fortunately there are many convenient places to study, get tutoring, and more around BHS. However, I know that those aren’t always accessible for everyone. So a few here are methods to make your home a distraction-free place. To start, moving your phone away from you, such as by placing it in a different room, will decrease the temptation to be on it because it isn’t in your view. This is the out-of-sight, out-of-mind technique. Cleaning up around your workspace can make completing work less stress-inducing and allow you to better focus on what you are doing. Finally listening to music, or using headphones to cancel out noise is great because, it blocks out the distractions around you, letting you concentrate on what is in front of you.