Block Scheduling in HS

[dg39]

Can someone explain the good, the bad and the ugly of this type of scheduling. The HS that I'm interested in sending my dd to has it. For the life of me, I can't figure out the good part of it. While I can't voice my opinion on it, because I'm not too familiar with it, I, can't see how this is a good policy.

If a student has math in the beginning of the term and doesn't get it again until either the end of the year or worse, the beginning of the following term, how well can the student do, without getting a tutor to refresh their memory so they're not forgetting what they already learned.

I tried doing a search, but, I still don't understand it.

 

[becjlek]

Our high school has it and it works out well for my ds. DS19 graduated last year and our next one starts next year. DS was able to double up on math so he could take college calc. his sr. year. Block gave him plenty of time to get to his college class and back. Another adavantage is that long tests can be done in one day instead of spread out over 2. With shorter tests the teachers have time for questions and a review before the tests. I really had my doubts when I found out our high school was switching to block but it has worked out well. Our school does 4 blocks a day for each term so you take the same class for half a year instead of all year.

 

[powellrj]

our kids use to have it and now have gone back to the old way. While it took awhile to catch on, they loved it and now they wish they had it back.

How theirs worked was your days had names. You had red days and white days. On red days you attended classes 1. 3. 5 and on white days you would attend classes 2, 4, 6. Instead of going to 6 classes everyday, and only going for 50 minutes, you would attend 3 classes a day for 90 minutes each on each assigned day. It worked well because you would have an extra day for homework and each class was longer so you could get more done in your day. The down side was if you had a long boring teacher you just had that teacher for longer during the day, but if you had a great teacher who never seemed to get everything in during a day, you had a longer day to work with.

 

[grinningghost]

DD's school has it - the kids generally love it - mainly because they only have a subject every other day (think Physics).

But then, they also hate it. 80 minutes of Physics on the days they DO have it.

Other than that, I don't think the block scheduling is good or bad - it's just different.

 

[golfgal]

Our old town had it at the high school and the middle school. They had the blocks set up by quarters so you would have each class for a quarter then switch. Some classes went for a whole semester or year, usually the required courses however. In the middle school they had their block one classes first and third quarter and their block two classes second and forth quarter, math they had all year long. I didn't like that set up at all because there was too much time between subject and it seemed like the teachers were constantly reviewing. In the high school it worked well because for classes like English the kids could take a 1/2 year of American Literature and 1/2 year of British Literature, for example, and meet their Language Arts credit. The science teachers LOVE the block schedule because they can offer their instruction period and lab on the same day.

Our middle schoolers here have an every other day block and I LOVE that. It took them a little time to get used to it but it works out great now. The main benefit of this schedule is that they don't have as much homework each night.

 

[Galahad]

How theirs worked was your days had names. You had red days and white days. On red days you attended classes 1. 3. 5 and on white days you would attend classes 2, 4, 6.

This is the way it works at DS's school - though there are 4 periods each day, alternating "Gray" and "Maroon" days. It really is better than the traditional schedule. Teachers get longer blocks of time with the kids. Kids learn to budget their time in a way that is closer to what they have to do in college. They have each class all semester, but just have them every other day instead of every day.

 

[Mari annie]

Never heard of that.
They just have rotating schedules for courses-



4/10 Sunny FL 2 weeks yipeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[Martha7]

MY Ds's high school is on a block schedule too. I think it makes it easier on the students, and easier on the teachers. In the traditional 45 minute class, there's less time to teach, between taking attendance, etc. Block classes are generally 90 minutes or so long, allowing plenty of time to teach, even giving the students time to work on their homework for that night!
The downside is that if your child misses a day of school, it's like missing two normal days.
Another advantage is that it allows the students plenty of time to take electives. Unless your child is really pushing themselves, by the time they're a senior, they have very few required courses left to take, so they can take it a little easier. My DS will have lots of business, computer, and other electives in his schedule next year.
Overall, I have really liked the block system!

 

[tar heel]

Both of my older sons went through high school on semester block scheduling (i.e., a class was completed in one semester). Overall, I like it. The things I liked best:

Enough time in the longer class blocks to do things such as chemisty experiments. How in the world would you do an advanced experiment in 45 minutes?

More time for electives. My older son was a top student, but he also managed to take drama, art and drafting. My younger son actually concentrated in art, but still had room for the college prep classes he needed.

Greater ability to do advanced off-campus activities, such as taking a class a the community college or university. In a traditional schedule, you would almost always miss two high school classes. We also have some seniors who do internships at local businesses -- my Dh has one this semester.

Fewer teachers to get to know and to get to know you.

More like college, so somewhat less adjustment when they leave high school.

Biggest drawbacks we've seen:

The potential big break in time between levels of math or foreign language

Major AP class problems b/c the dates for those tests are set nationally. Our students either take the test without an entire semester of work or they have a break of a few months between when the class ends and the test is given. Neither is good.

Had a few teachers who didn't use the extra time wisely, but not many.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

My son's had it in high school. I think our high school (parochial) started it in l997. When I first heard about it I didn't think anyone would like it. My sons' loved it. They said it especially helped when they were taking AP courses, and AP reviews for the AP tests. They also had a 45 minute activity break in the morning when they could do service, club activities, or study. They said the block scheduling really helped them not only learn better but retain material better also.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

All Hail the Block Scheduling. My 15yodd, Dh and I thank God more than once a year her school is block scheduling.
Her school is 4 classes a semester. It is run like college credit-wise.
She can take 8 credits a year.
As well as 2 credits (total) online for graduation.

The "bad"...

As far as the argument with Math which is frequent, I know, we have found that every kid that "gets math" doesn't have an issue.

Frankly it forces you accept your kids weakness prior to college and get them extra help so they are better prepared.

My dd does use a tutor for math.
She was able to take Spanish 1,2,3,4 in 2 years. If she was only doing up to Spanish 3, she could have run into a gap semester.

Bottom line...we love it.

 

[Darcy03231]

We have it in our middle and high schools and my kids love it. They are finding they get much more done in school so there's a lot less homework at night. DD is in all honors classes and went from having 4+ hours of homework every night to about 1.5 hours. This has allowed her to participate in a lot of extra-curricular activities that she just didn't have time for before.

 

[Sparx]

My boyfriend has had both kinds at two different schools. He liked one kind and hates the other.

The first kind is an "A/B" schedule. That is where you have 4 (usually) classes one day, then you have 4 more the next day.

The second is a semester type. You have 4 classes for 2 hours every day for one semester, and then the next semester you have the same 4 classes every day.

He seriously preferred the first type. He says that the second is monotonous and boring.

I've personally never had it.

 

[dg39]

Well, thanks to all who posted to make it alittle clearer for me to understand.

From what I'm reading the majority does like it. My concern was with math.
This is the first year, I haven't had a tutor for my dd in math. She likes the teacher, finds that everything is explained and is pulling A's. We are very happy with that. She wasn't doing poorly before. She was getting nothing less then B's, but, she wants to see those A's.

(me, I'm happy with B's.)

Anyway, (not, that I have a choice), we'll give the block scheduling a shot when the time comes. If we see that she's forgetting what she learned by the time she gets math again, I'll just get a tutor.

I'm sure that when she (& me) gets used to it, we'll like it as much as everyone else does.

Thanks for all the replies. They all helped.

 

[wendy46001]

Major AP class problems b/c the dates for those tests are set nationally. Our students either take the test without an entire semester of work or they have a break of a few months between when the class ends and the test is given.

This is why the block program was abandoned in this area ...test scores went way down

 

[Kirby]

We loved block scheduling and wish we had it back. Our school district got rid of it because it cost more because you need more teachers with block scheduling than without. At least this is what a state auditor told them.

 

[Maleficent13]

I find it interesting that the main "pro" is that it allows more time per class. When I was in high school, all "main" (think math, science, English, etc)classes were 90 minutes, every day. Have school days gotten shorter that they can't fit them in every day?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I find it interesting that the main "pro" is that it allows more time per class. When I was in high school, all "main" (think math, science, English, etc)classes were 90 minutes, every day. Have school days gotten shorter that they can't fit them in every day?

Yes...

In fact that is why alot are going to block scheduling. They are adding more credits for graduation.

 

[Alyssa88]

My high school had it. I hated it, the classes were an hour and a half, and I could not stand it. I was always very figetty (and since I went to a performing arts high school and my major was dance, I was able to use up alot of energy in the morning, but it still didnt help). In college I only have one lecture that lasts that long, and even though its a class I love, I still have a hard time sitting that long. My high school was very good (and strict)academically, and ranks highly (PSSA score, SATs scores, etc.), so I guess they know what they were doing.

The reason we needed it was so that students could still have every class they needed (there was only college prep, honors and AP tracks at my school) to get into college, as well as have their art major (which took up half the day classes.

 

[kandeebunny]

I HATED it, I went from 7 classes a day to 4, plus choir. I couldn't stand it, after about 50-60mins of a subject we were all pretty much done, and the teachers knew that and gave us homework time. Seemed like a big waste to me.