Block Scheduling Advantages And Disadvantages

In order to accommodate the year round calendar, there are several forms of year round education. The first form follows a single track calendar. This is the most popular type of calendar (Shields, 2000). A single track year is usually implemented to “provide a more balanced and enriched education program or to accommodate the special scheduling needs of a community” (Glines, 2002, 2699). A single track calendar takes on a 45/15 design. This is where students go to school for forty-five days in a row, and then have a fifteen day break. It is a continuous cycle. Schools usually begin in early August, and follow this pattern four times to complete the school year (Glines, 2002). The three week break in between is called an intersession. During this time, students can choose to take additional educational courses through “remedial,

Another important advantage for many school districts is that year-round school can enable multi-track schedules. A multi-track schedule is one in which teachers and students are divided into equally sized groups called tracks (Gerard 1). Each track attends school and has vacation at the same time, but there is always at least one track on vacation at any time (1). This is somewhat analogous to our P.E. system at Johnston High. Imagine if everyone had P.E. on the same day; we’d never be able to manage students or fit them into the gyms. This is comparable to our

4x4 block scheduling would be easier.. Teachers have to teach 3 classes for 90 minutes each and get a 90 minute planning period, which gives teachers time to prepare for the class. Teachers even have less students to teach with the 4x4 schedule which means less papers to grade. Also for students, 4x4 block scheduling is less overwhelming than A/B. 8 classes at a time is a lot to handle and definitely a lot to remember. Students

Have you ever wondered what the difference between traditional schooling and year-round education is? Maybe you didn’t know that there are more than one type of year-round education. A year-round school schedule can benefit educators, students, and even families. Year-round schooling is where the breaks in school are on a balanced schedule. Instead of having a three month summer break, there would be 60 days off and then the students would be back to school. If on a multi track schedule, teachers could use their off time to substitute at their school on a different track or at another school to get paid more. For students, the shorter breaks away from school increase retention rates, therefore reducing the amount of review necessary at

Adding just an extra ten minutes to each class, the new schedule would create the potential for students to have more homework time, lab time, learning time, and/or valuable free time to read for pleasure, relax with music, draw, etc. (Hadfield). Especially as students get older and more involved in extracurriculars and rigorous academic courses, the need for any spare moment to get assignments done, study, or even sleep increases. When this time is unavailable or extremely hard to get, students are more likely to fall asleep in class, miss school due to illness, misbehave, cheat, hand in incomplete assignments, or drop out altogether. The same is largely true for teachers. The more homework turned in by students, the more grading has to be done by teachers who are already exhausted from a long, often repetitive day of work. Therefore, it is important to emphasize the fact that this extra time should not be used to cram in larger quantities of learning standards or homework problems, but rather to enhance the quality of the already demanding school regulations that are in schools

Sommerfeld, Meg. "More and More Schools Putting Block Scheduling to Test of Time." Education Week. N.p., 02 May 2016. Web. 24 Mar.

The 45-15 and 45-10 schedules are divided into 45 school days and 15, or 10, days of vacation. The 60-20 and 60-15, and the 45-15 and 45-10 plans can be, and usually are, combined with either the single or multi-track systems. In the Concept 6 plan, the school year is divided into six 43 day terms. This term is similar to block scheduling. Students and teachers go to two consecutive sessions and then they have one session off (Palmer & Bemis, 1999).

What is your least favorite class, the one you dread most? Picture yourself walking into that class, taking a seat, and watching the clock move slowly as you suffer through the next 90 minutes. Yes, you read that correctly. Imagine being stuck in your least favorite class for an hour and a half! This is a reality that many high school students experience every day. It is block scheduling. “Unlike traditional bell schedules - which typically comprise six to eight class periods per day, lasting anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes - block schedules contain just four daily class periods, with each one lasting an average of 90 minutes” (Block Scheduling in Schools 1). Although designed to increase student achievement, block schedules carry a number of disadvantages that make them an inadequate method for offering high school students a successful learning environment. Despite its few benefits, block scheduling works in direct conflict with most human attention spans, creates more scheduling problems than it solves, and lacks any solid evidence of improving student learning. In a world where educational practices come and go, block scheduling is a fad that should never have arrived in the first place.

Eyes watching the clock, praying it could move faster. The students are full of joy when the bell finally rings. Only to wake up tomorrow to repeat it over again. Some teachers and students want to go to block scheduling for the upcoming school year. Having Advanced Composition in either of the block schedules has its advantages and disadvantages.

Each “track” of students is staggered throughout the year so that each group is attending the school at different times. For example, a school that has 1000 students could rotate them into five groups of 200 students each. Using a multi-track schedule also decreases the need for construction of new schools. According to Rivera, of the Washington Post (2003): when employing a multi-track schedule, “25 percent more students can attend year-round schools,” without added construction (para. 8). (9)Additionally, Barber (1996) adds that The Soccoro Independent School District, in Texas, “saved 30 million dollars of tax payer money by using a multi-track schedule” (para. 4). One result of overcrowding is a lack of personal assistance.

When you first hear about the schedule and look at its outline, it sounds pretty solid. More breaks, longer breaks, and the main idea of getting done with core classes faster. For a student, hearing that sounds pretty good. For example if a student doesn’t lie one of the core classes then they would only have to put up with it for one-quarter.

Many students across the nation are attending schools that have seven classes during each school day as their schedule, one of them being Conroe High School. But behind the scenes, students are not exactly satisfied with these conditions, but they are forced to accept this brutal schedule as part of their everyday lives. That is why Conroe High School’s principal, Dr. Weatherly, should change the school’s schedule to have less, but longer, classes in a single day to create a less stressful environment for the students’ and teachers’ benefit.

In the article “Schools scrutinize block scheduling” Groves (2015) addresses the effects of block scheduling in Alamance-Burlington School System. He claims that implementing block schedules did not help this school system, and in fact has been detrimental to the students. Groves (2015) argues that before changing student schedules, enough research should be completed to determine whether this change will be helpful. With a traditional schedule, he says, students can slowly learn the information, instead of cram it in all at once. He believes that teachers and students should have a say in which schedule the school adopts. Groves (2015) concludes that block scheduling is an unnatural, ineffective way for students to learn.

Many schools are considering switching to year around school schedules. Some people might not understand what this means. ”Students in most American year-round school districts spend the same amount of days in class as students in traditional calendar schools- the days are just arranged differently, with smaller more frequent breaks throughout the year” (McMullen, 2001). Holton should not consider this schedule because it does not improve students learning, year round school would interfere with family vacations, and it makes trying to get a summer job for teens difficult.

It is October 15th. Normally, students would be at school, working for hours on end at math, communication arts, and science. But this year is different. This year your school has now entered into the year-round calendar system. At home, you can enjoy the season of fall with pumpkins, Halloween, and beautiful weather. The idea of year round school has most commonly been pushed aside because of the misconception that it is too much school, or an on-going cycle of learning. However, those who declare this, do not understand the year-round school concept. Year-round school provides the same number of days as the traditional calendar. The difference, which will change our society and the achievement rate of our students in the future, is that the days are reordered into intersessions. The mechanisms of year round school include students attending school for a nine week period, then following this is a three week break. This rotation occurs year-round with a slightly longer summer break. Consequently, Though many people agree with keeping tradition with the popular school calendar, new evidence and testimony proves that year-round school provides the better avenue because the world is evolving, it benefits low income students, and intersessions are more effective than summer break.