Block Schedule Disadvantages

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The Advantages of a Block Schedule
For many years, schools nationwide have strived for students’ success and life achievements. Always implementing opportunities in the education system to further encourage students on pursuing success. It is unnecessary to say that the amount of time and learning experiences that students encounter is crucial for their educational accomplishments. However, due to the reduction of time spent in each class during the school day, students are unable to fully grasp and expand on their newly found skills and incorporate them into their everyday life. Needless to say, each child learns at a different pace and requires a distinct amount of help in particular areas of the common core or advanced placement classes
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The two major ones being the traditional six subject schedule, and the block schedule, where a maximum of four classes are taken on alternating days, or each semester. The defining factor of the block schedule compared to the traditional is that it provides additional time for instruction on specific days (“Advantages and Disadvantages of the Block Schedule”). Depending on the school or area, a certain method is applied. With a six period system, each class amounts to approximately 275 minutes each week, while with a block schedule, if each class is ninety minutes, the total amount equals 225 minutes, which is less than the traditional, thus causing numerous issues. High school students generally challenge themselves by participating in advanced placement classes or performance based subjects, and it is commonly known that time and its management is crucial to success. With either of these systems, both students and teachers receive unnecessary amounts of stress, because while one lacks the time in total, the other does not manage it properly. The solution would be a renovated block schedule. Instead of four classes each alternating day, there would be three periods. Each subject would last 118 minutes, and on Fridays, they would be 55 minutes. The result would be 291 minutes per class, per week. Not only is there more time to plan and prepare, but within a day, a greater amount of activities …show more content…
The most prominent benefit of block scheduling is its ability to allow students more time to absorb and process the information they are learning. Every student has a unique way of thinking. By extending class time, students are able to learn at their own rates, which can lead to higher academic achievements. In addition, teachers would have a greater amount of time available to use innovative teaching methods and assign projects where students can apply their knowledge. For instance, science classes would be able to conduct in-depth and accurate laboratory experiments instead of rushing to finish on time, which leads to higher percent errors. A study was conducted by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and the Northwest Evaluation Association’s Measures of Academic Progress; data was collected from two high schools that conducted block scheduling. Data from both high schools revealed improvement in students’ application of material taught as well as improvement of college preparation. Block scheduling is also useful for advanced placement classes. Teachers are given a limited amount of time to prepare students for AP exams. With the lengthier class periods and the greater total amount of time spent in each class, teachers can better prepare students for the