Block Schedule!

This is just an essay on why I think that Junior High Schools should have block schedules. What do you think?

The Joys of The Block Schedule

Ding! Ding! Ding! What? Class can’t be over, we haven’t finished yet! Many teachers complain about running out of time for class. There are also teachers who complain that they could fit more of the curriculum into their classes that would benefit the students. Some students claim that they could accomplish more in a class period such as clothing or shop. But at the same time many students complain that 50 minutes is too long for class and they need to be shortened. But if you look at it Junior High schools need to have eight classes, four classes per day in a block schedule.

Many teachers complain about not having enough time to finish all that they had planned. If we were to have A and B days our class period would be longer, possibly over an hour. Mrs. Money at Fairfield Junior High School agrees saying, “With only four changes between classes only 20 minutes is used by students being in the hall, the rest can be incorporated into classroom instruction. Also, with an hour and a half to teach concepts can be thoroughly covered and practiced during class with the teacher’s support.” This could also benefit the students as well in classes other than core. Having classes over an hour long would make classes such as shop, or clothing easier as we would get to work on projects longer, that way you wouldn’t have to rush. But just having more time wouldn’t be the only benefit from the block schedule.

If we had a block schedule we could have one more class per semester. Having eight classes per semester instead of seven would make it easier for students to graduate from high school. Or at the same time it could please the school board to a great extent. If we had more classes our graduation requirements could be slightly raised giving us a better education. This would enable students to achieve a better education, and be better prepared for the real world. But this change could even possibly open more things for students.

If we had two more classes per semester we could possibly take a wider variety of classes. We could possibly take more classes such as auto- mechanics, or ceramics, which are less common in Junior High Schools. This might spark something with some students that don’t do well in classes that the Junior high already has available, this might help to raise the students overall GPA. All in all there is a lot of evidence supporting this, although only some is listed here.

I hope that this has helped to support that Junior High Schools need to have eight classes per semester in a Block Schedule. This would benefit the teachers in educating us students. It would also help students to graduate from High School faster. It would also keep kids more interested in school if they could take more classes. So what would you do, don’t you think that overall the consequences would all be positive?