by Vincent Bushong
When the students of Montezuma were introduced to the idea of block scheduling, they were unsure of whether it would be a good idea to sit in a single class for 85 minutes. However, after nine weeks of classes on the block schedule, students are starting to see the benefits block scheduling can offer.
Block scheduling is a system where classes are twice as long as normal periods, but students only have each class every other day. Montezuma’s block schedule is a hybrid of a conventional block schedule and the school’s previous eight-period system; period one is only 45 minutes, and period five is 55 minutes. These classes meet everyday. Periods two, three and four are 85 minutes long and alternate classes every other day. To make sure students go to the right classes, each day at school is either an “A” day or a “B” day.
Although it is quite a change for them to get used to, most of Montezuma’s teachers think block scheduling is moving in the right direction.
Keith Siestra said, “As a teacher, I love it because it adds more instruction time, and if students have a problem the teacher is now there to help.”
Many other teachers share Siestra’s opinion.
The junior high English teacher Roxanne Goudy said, “Block scheduling allows more time in class for kids to understand what they are doing.”
John Gallagher, the guidance counselor at Montezuma and person in charge of students’ schedules, said, “A majority of the students and teachers like [the schedule]. There’s some adjustments to be made, but overall I think it’s going well.”
However, this year is only a test of the new system, and no new system is perfect. Some students and faculty have reservations.
The Spanish teacher Carrie Stockman said, “I love the opportunity to spend quality time in one day on listening, writing and speaking. However, I find that having classes every other day makes it difficult for students to keep track of what day it is. It also makes absences and make-up work challenging.”
Dwain McClure, the shop teacher at Montezuma, said, “Some students don’t like it because they don’t have study halls, and some feel like they get cheated time during the week since they only see teachers every other day.”
A survey was taken from a random selection of students. The survey consisted of asking the participants if they liked the new schedule, prefer the old schedule, or have no preference. Then, participants were asked to explain their choice. Of the 97 people surveyed, 54 responded that block scheduling is better while 14 preferred the previous 8-period schedule. The remaining 29 people had no preference.
Most of those who chose the block said they did so because it allows them time in class to get their homework done and breaks the repetition of having every class everyday. The general thought of those who preferred the 8-period system was 85 minutes was too long to be in a single class.
The high school principal Brian Moretz said, “I believe students and staff have done a wonderful job being flexible with block scheduling, and we’re getting done what we need to with learning.”
In spite of its rough spots, the block schedule has opened up new opportunities and has exposed students to a brand new type of learning.
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