Interim superintendent Dr. Dennis Womack announced to teachers on March 24 that the district will switch back to the eight-period class schedule from the A and B day block schedule for the 2021-2022 school year.
The school should keep block schedules for the next school year.
Four-period days allows for more class time. Attending less class periods every day provides teachers and students with more class time every day, with classes currently lasting an hour and a half, instead of the traditional 45 minute classes. This allows more time for in-depth classroom discussions, essays and testing. With shorter class periods, students often did not complete tests and other assignments and finished after the bell, missing time from other classes. This is not a problem with longer class periods. With block schedules, students have expressed that they have more time to work on homework during the school day, leaving more time for afterschool activities and time with family.
Loading ...A and B days give teachers more time to prepare for classes, and provide students additional time to complete assignments and homework. With only four classes per day, teachers have two hour-and-a-half planning periods over the course of two days, which allows them with a longer consistent chunk of time to work. With eight-period days, teachers received two split-up, shorter periods to plan. Additionally, students have two days to complete school work for their classes. For example, if a teacher assigns a student a worksheet, they have a buffer of the day in between to work. This lowers students’ and teachers’ stress because they have more time to complete everything for their classes.
Continuing four-period days better prepares students for a college schedule. This allows students to learn how to study and stay on top of school work when they do not attend each class every day. Other districts, such as Allen ISD, follow the block schedule and have used it for years successfully. The district should follow suit and allow for the flexibility in scheduling for students. Additionally, the current schedule allows for longer time in between classes, allowing a short break for students before returning to the classroom. This schedule also provides students with social emotional learning (SEL), which are beneficial for students’ mental health and relieves the stress from longer classes.
While those supporting eight-period days claim that shorter classes ease problems with inattention, students should learn how to stay focused over long periods of time to prepare for future jobs and college classes. The school should shorten passing periods and use that time to integrate short breaks during class for students and teachers. This will appease those concerned with the focus of students during long class periods.
The school should remain using block schedules in order to better time management and prepare students for the future.
