Block Scheduling Should Block Traditional Scheduling

TOMMY LY AND JANET YU STAFF WRITTERS
Most high schools in the United States run a class schedule of six or seven courses per semester, something most people are familiar with. However, block scheduling allows the students more time to absorb the content of the subject by extending the class period while still allowing the full courses for students. It also benefits teachers by giving them more flexibility and to not stick to a tight schedule. Thus, schools should replace the traditional scheduling system with the block scheduling system.
All students can benefit from making block scheduling being the regular schedule. For example, students will have a less fragmented curriculum. The most important courses are placed close to each other in a schedule to allow for optimal learning. In addition, students will have less passing periods with block scheduling, meaning more of the time that would have been spent walking to another class is spent learning more about a subject. Passing periods can be disruptive to a student’s learning process because they could have finally started to understand a subject, but have no time to mentally process it due to the bell and having to move on to the next subject. Students will also have fewer tests, quizzes and assignments overall because of their amount of courses are smaller. This allows the student to focus more on their available classes and spend more time on each one. Although traditional scheduling allows students to receive a larger amount of classes in a single day to increase variety, it does not increase productivity. That is because the variety of the classes would most likely interfere with each other, not allowing the student to fully absorb the contents of the classes.
There are also many advantages for teachers. Teachers will be able to get to know their students better and teach them according to their needs. In addition, there will be more class time to prepare students and less wasted time. In a regular schedule, teachers have to call for attendance six times in a day, however with a block schedule they will only have to call for attendance three or four times and have more time to teach rather than waste time on miscellaneous things like calling attendance. This enables teachers to have more time to teach their students and allow students to have more learning time.
Block scheduling also has benefits when it comes to foreign language classes. With block scheduling, it will be easier to take advanced courses because students will have more time to focus and work on their assignments. Students will also be able to have more time to let the information sink in and process. This has proven to be useful, as a Spanish teacher from Wake County, has reported that enrollment in upper levels of Spanish has gone up ever since they decided on block scheduling. If it works for others, it can prove to be advantageous in other areas too.
Both teachers and students will be able to gain from block scheduling. Teachers will have more time to prepare students, and students will be able to have more time to learn and let the information process in their brains.