This is a point-counterpoint editorial. Read the opposing view at EDITORIAL (COUNTERPOINT): PLANNERS NOW OUTDATED.

Every year, Seminole—along with a variety of other schools—hands its students free planners. While most of the students will utilize the planner to their convenience, there always remains a portion of the population who never even bother to touch their planners throughout the school year. This might lead one to wonder what the use of a planner even is. Are they even useful?

Freshman Sagrario Suarez said, “I find using a planner helpful because it helps me keep track of due dates for homework and it keeps me organized.”

In addition, it’s been found that keeping a daily agenda does increase productivity. Planners provide a visual record of what needs to be completed and tasks that still need to be finished. By being able to physically cross out completed assignments, a person is able to feel a greater sense of accomplishment.

Secondly, planners help recall forgotten events and give a brief record of homework assignments that have been assigned that could have possibly slipped from memory. According to research done by University of Waterloo, not seeing or actively reprocessing information causes the brain to forget anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of the material after just one day. So, just by keeping a planner, keeping track of assignments helps one avoid forgetting homework assignments.

“I use my planner every week,” commented senior Jennifer Moran. “For the most part I can remember when I have to do something for a class but I still make sure to write it down in my planner. My planner helps me keep track of what I’ve done and also helps me when I forget to do something. My planner helps me a lot. I also use it to see important [dates] like the next SAT.”

Practically speaking, the planners that Seminole High School offers are small and compact so they can be carried around easily. Unlike some schools where planners are the size of a normal-sized notebook, Seminole’s planners can easily fit into a nook of a crowded backpack.

Whether it’s copying down tonight’s homework assignments, searching up formulas and different conversion units, or getting out of class to use the restroom, it’s an undeniable fact that planners have a variety of uses and can be more beneficial to the owner than an untouched paperweight sitting at home.