Block Schedule: Pros and Cons

Pros

Maryn Spangler

    This controversial schedule is great for middle school education. It eliminates many problems for kids, making it easier and goes by quicker. It lowers stress levels and takes the pressure off students. The block lessens so many aspects of school that students struggle with. Here are some examples. 

   Firstly, it lessens homework. The longer class periods let students finish more work and get a head start on their homework. Also, electives like home work labs give students more than an hour twice a week to do homework. 7th grader Jay Anderson agrees, she states that It makes the day go by faster”. Aswell as 8th grader Brett Midgley, he believes that more work gets done and he is able to turn assignments in early.  

On top of that it makes the days go by super quick. With only four classes a day many don’t feel overworked and that the day flies by. Eighth grader Leland Elmes feels unstressed whilst the block schedule is intact and feels like the day goes super quick without wishing the bell would ring. 

  Certain students think that the block schedule makes the amount of stuff you bring difficult to remember and a lot due to Wednesday but actually ,the block schedule lessens the amount students bring to class, making their bags less heavy and controlling the amount of items they have to bring daily. Also having a schedule that repeats makes it easier for students to memorize what to bring daily. 

The block lifts the weight off of so many students’ shoulders metaphorically and actually. It makes so many students feel calm and happy. That’s why the block schedule should stay intact, it helps students’ educations, just like yours. 

Cons

Kayla McCurdy

The block schedule is not a suitable way of learning for middle school students. I and many others would like to go back to the old schedule. With block, the classes are too long, it promotes procrastination, and leaves kids confused. Many students and staff are wondering why we can’t go back to the old schedule. Hopefully one day we can.  

  Ninety minutes is too long to sit in a classroom. The long periods make the days feel like they are even longer than usual. Many students prefer Wednesday’s because of the short classes. Eighth grader student, Matthew Baldwin likes Wednesday’s the most along with 7th grader Claire Kim. Sometimes sitting in a one and a half  hour class can get boring. It can also leave the teachers having to figure out things to keep the students occupied for that amount of time. This is one of the main reasons why the block schedule is problematic. 

When students don’t see their teachers for three or possibly four days it can lead to major procrastination. With every class every day most of the time the homework that was assigned that day was due the next. Now that kids have three – four days to complete that work they can wait until the last minute and decide to not do anything at all. For myself, it has led to being unorganized and waiting till the last minute to complete some assignments. If I had something to do the next day I would have to stay organized and on top of all of my work. This schedule doesn’t help students stay organized. 

Even over six weeks into the school year I still hear kids ask, “even or odd periods today?” Students have still not gotten used to this schedule and may never, especially when we come back from a long weekend. I wonder, is it even or odd on Tuesday? Or when we come back from a break. Holidays mess up our block schedule rotation adding to confusion. Moral of the story is, there should be one schedule to stick to and the easiest way to do that would be all 7 periods every day. 

This schedule brings up many conflicts. The classes are too long, it promotes procrastination, and leaves kids confused. In my opinion, there was nothing wrong with the schedule that was used for a countless number of years prior to Covid 19.