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Right now at Charter Oak High School, the only time that there is a block schedule is for finals. However, there has been some speculation that block schedule might become a permanent thing.
Block schedule is a system where there are fewer classes in a day for a student, but they last for about two hours. There are some pros to having this type of schedule. But there are many negative effects that it could have at Charter Oak. With a block schedule, the student would go to three classes a day with no zero period, and four classes with a zero.
Students normally are in class for 55 minutes and 45 minutes for a late start day. Asking them to stay in the same class and seat for two hours would not be beneficial. Staying in one class for too long could also cause a student to feel mentally and emotionally drained.
Victoria Flores, sophomore said, “I don’t think that Charter Oak should have a block schedule because it would get boring after a while, and I feel that it would not help our learning experience. If anything, it would just pile more work onto us.”
When teenagers have to stay in one spot for a long period of time, this causes their mind to wander. Students get bored easily and most of them have short attention spans, so this would not be a smart decision for them. A regular school day provides the perfect amount of time for students to learn a decent amount without having them feel too stressed.
According to nhs.uk, it can also be unhealthy to not move around for a while, especially at such a young age. People need around 30 minutes of exercise to live a healthy lifestyle and with a block schedule this makes it harder for them to achieve this goal.
Not only would this schedule affect the everyday lives of students but it would also impact the teachers at Charter Oak. Teachers have a certain activity or lesson planned out for the 55-minute period of time that they have, and that would change with an extra hour.
Brianna Gadut, sophomore said, “Having a block schedule sounds like it would be even more stressful than what we already have. Especially if someone was absent, then that would be way too much work.”
Teachers would have to cram a lot into the few days that they have with their classes. This could cause students to feel overwhelmed with all of the information that they have to absorb and cause more stress for them.
Students already have to worry about all of the homework that they have for one night, so to add the need to memorize all of the things that they learnt in class is too much. If a student misses a day they are actually missing more than one on the current bell schedule. Not only are they missing learning opportunities with an absence, but if there is a test that day then it becomes even harder for them to make it up. These specifics are what could impact a student’s grade negatively.
Having a block schedule would not be helpful to any of the staff or students here at Charter Oak. It would add more of a workload to students already hectic live and could also affect their overall health. Teachers might not have enough time to explain their lessons and that would lead to students not being prepared for tests. Having a block schedule would not benefit anyone in the long run and could affect students grades.
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