Will we ever move away from block scheduling?

[Anonymous]

As others have noted colleges do block scheduling successfully. Went to middle and high school in the 70s with block scheduling. It has been around for a very long time.

Why are kids doing so poorly now? It isn’t block scheduling, it is a lack of discipline, time management, catering to the educational fad of the day, and getting away from core curriculum that all contribute to the challenges faced today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Block scheduling is the worst.

My kids text me during the day (what happened to the no phone policy???) and I’m always asking why are you texting in the middle of class. They always tell me that they are done with all their work and their teacher told them they can do whatever. This happens too often. There is a good 20-30 minutes at the end of every class where the kids are just playing around. Ask your kids. Ask their friends.

I don’t blame the teachers for this at all. They can’t keep kids focused for that long.

Kids need math every day. They need language every day. Feel free to argue with me, but you won’t convince me otherwise.

By the time they are seniors, it’s possible that they are ready for block scheduling, but up until that point they just aren’t.

Taking short breaks and walking through the halls to switch classes is so beneficial. It clears their heads so they can focus better. It’s also good for their health.

Block scheduling is great for science and labs, but that’s pretty much it.

I’ve never seen any studies on this, but Id think kids retain information better when exposed to it daily.

It isn't that teachers can't keep kids focused that long. We are explicitly told that we are not permitted to do direct instruction for more than 15-20 minutes, and our evaluations reflect that directive.

Class discussion with a smart group of peers was an enjoyable part of class when I was in school.
Our teachers didn’t lecture the entire session.

So you want 15-20 minutes of direct instruction and then 70-75 minutes of class discussion?

What works best, but is in contrast to the current fad of utilizing stations and independent work with teacher conferences, is a 20-25 minute lesson, then discussion and application, with additional practice (homework) at home. The next day, review the homework, do another lesson, practice and apply, and then assign homework. Daily 45-minute classes are best, at least in middle school. Stations and extended independent work blocks are a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids loved block scheduling. They went to a secondary school so they had block from 7-12. They enjoyed not having homework in every class every day, enjoyed only focusing on a few classes a day, and having more days between classes to finish assignments.

Right? And they like dessert with every meal too.

We don't do things because kids like them, or because they are convenient for adults, we do them because they are best for kids. Or at least, we should.

How on earth is block scheduling where there is more time to focus on the subject every other day remotely equivalent to dessert, which is an extra treat? Many teachers strongly prefer teaching in the block models and feel it’s better for students.

Obviously many educators prefer block scheduling, that's why FCPS has it. That doesn't mean it's the best way for students to learn.

Prove this.

It's much more proven that outsourcing the teaching of grammar to Lexia for elementary kids is harmful. Can we change that first since it's shown in study after study?

Consider when your child (or you) learns something - swimming lessons, riding a bike, music lessons, a foreign language, anything. Taking a lesson once a week is a very slow way to learn a skill. Taking two or three lessons a week is better, but often children need to swim every day before they actually learn to swim. The music instructor will tell parents that it's better to practice for 5-10 minutes 5 times a week rather than for an hour on the weekend. Daily sports practice is what the best athletes do. Etc. Our brains learn best by doing something every day, not two or three times a week. This is intuitive when we think of skills. Why is it hard to believe about school?

My kid takes pitching lessons. She has a lesson every other week. She practices >4x/week (out of season and in). In traditional schooling models class is a lesson and homework is the practice. Or at least this is true in MS/HS - less so in ES, but even then it can work in the upper ES grades.

Uh, kids with block scheduling are not doing math homework every night. They do it every other night. That's exactly the problem.

Well the other problem is the math curriculum in FCPS is absolutely garbage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids loved block scheduling. They went to a secondary school so they had block from 7-12. They enjoyed not having homework in every class every day, enjoyed only focusing on a few classes a day, and having more days between classes to finish assignments.

Right? And they like dessert with every meal too.

We don't do things because kids like them, or because they are convenient for adults, we do them because they are best for kids. Or at least, we should.

How on earth is block scheduling where there is more time to focus on the subject every other day remotely equivalent to dessert, which is an extra treat? Many teachers strongly prefer teaching in the block models and feel it’s better for students.

Obviously many educators prefer block scheduling, that's why FCPS has it. That doesn't mean it's the best way for students to learn.

Prove this.

It's much more proven that outsourcing the teaching of grammar to Lexia for elementary kids is harmful. Can we change that first since it's shown in study after study?

Consider when your child (or you) learns something - swimming lessons, riding a bike, music lessons, a foreign language, anything. Taking a lesson once a week is a very slow way to learn a skill. Taking two or three lessons a week is better, but often children need to swim every day before they actually learn to swim. The music instructor will tell parents that it's better to practice for 5-10 minutes 5 times a week rather than for an hour on the weekend. Daily sports practice is what the best athletes do. Etc. Our brains learn best by doing something every day, not two or three times a week. This is intuitive when we think of skills. Why is it hard to believe about school?

My kid takes pitching lessons. She has a lesson every other week. She practices >4x/week (out of season and in). In traditional schooling models class is a lesson and homework is the practice. Or at least this is true in MS/HS - less so in ES, but even then it can work in the upper ES grades.

Uh, kids with block scheduling are not doing math homework every night. They do it every other night. That's exactly the problem.

Well the other problem is the math curriculum in FCPS is absolutely garbage.

No, they assign more work so it often takes 2 nights to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids loved block scheduling. They went to a secondary school so they had block from 7-12. They enjoyed not having homework in every class every day, enjoyed only focusing on a few classes a day, and having more days between classes to finish assignments.

Right? And they like dessert with every meal too.

We don't do things because kids like them, or because they are convenient for adults, we do them because they are best for kids. Or at least, we should.

How on earth is block scheduling where there is more time to focus on the subject every other day remotely equivalent to dessert, which is an extra treat? Many teachers strongly prefer teaching in the block models and feel it’s better for students.

Obviously many educators prefer block scheduling, that's why FCPS has it. That doesn't mean it's the best way for students to learn.

Prove this.

It's much more proven that outsourcing the teaching of grammar to Lexia for elementary kids is harmful. Can we change that first since it's shown in study after study?

Consider when your child (or you) learns something - swimming lessons, riding a bike, music lessons, a foreign language, anything. Taking a lesson once a week is a very slow way to learn a skill. Taking two or three lessons a week is better, but often children need to swim every day before they actually learn to swim. The music instructor will tell parents that it's better to practice for 5-10 minutes 5 times a week rather than for an hour on the weekend. Daily sports practice is what the best athletes do. Etc. Our brains learn best by doing something every day, not two or three times a week. This is intuitive when we think of skills. Why is it hard to believe about school?

My kid takes pitching lessons. She has a lesson every other week. She practices >4x/week (out of season and in). In traditional schooling models class is a lesson and homework is the practice. Or at least this is true in MS/HS - less so in ES, but even then it can work in the upper ES grades.

Uh, kids with block scheduling are not doing math homework every night. They do it every other night. That's exactly the problem.

Well the other problem is the math curriculum in FCPS is absolutely garbage.

No, they assign more work so it often takes 2 nights to do it.

Not for my MSer. Minimal math homework one or two nights a week, maybe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid switched schools from block to every day schedules. She greatly misses the block schedule. Having all seven periods in one day means more wasted time to transition between classes. It means having four or so tests in one day. It means having less time for taking a test or quiz.

This would be my thought. Tests/quizzes and homework could be crushing and, yes, the transitions would waste a lot of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Block scheduling is the worst.

My kids text me during the day (what happened to the no phone policy???) and I’m always asking why are you texting in the middle of class. They always tell me that they are done with all their work and their teacher told them they can do whatever. This happens too often. There is a good 20-30 minutes at the end of every class where the kids are just playing around. Ask your kids. Ask their friends.

I don’t blame the teachers for this at all. They can’t keep kids focused for that long.

Kids need math every day. They need language every day. Feel free to argue with me, but you won’t convince me otherwise.

By the time they are seniors, it’s possible that they are ready for block scheduling, but up until that point they just aren’t.

Taking short breaks and walking through the halls to switch classes is so beneficial. It clears their heads so they can focus better. It’s also good for their health.

Block scheduling is great for science and labs, but that’s pretty much it.

I’ve never seen any studies on this, but Id think kids retain information better when exposed to it daily.

It isn't that teachers can't keep kids focused that long. We are explicitly told that we are not permitted to do direct instruction for more than 15-20 minutes, and our evaluations reflect that directive.

Class discussion with a smart group of peers was an enjoyable part of class when I was in school.
Our teachers didn’t lecture the entire session.

So you want 15-20 minutes of direct instruction and then 70-75 minutes of class discussion?

What works best, but is in contrast to the current fad of utilizing stations and independent work with teacher conferences, is a 20-25 minute lesson, then discussion and application, with additional practice (homework) at home. The next day, review the homework, do another lesson, practice and apply, and then assign homework. Daily 45-minute classes are best, at least in middle school. Stations and extended independent work blocks are a waste of time.

You can do this educational model in block scheduling as well. It was how TJ taught in the early 2000s.

[Anonymous]

TJ has an anchor day so the kids can see their teachers typically 3 days a week. If they need their teachers 3 days a week, then why isn't that the standard?

[Anonymous]

I think all that needs to happen is for the middle and high schools to have an anchor day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As others have noted colleges do block scheduling successfully. Went to middle and high school in the 70s with block scheduling. It has been around for a very long time.

Why are kids doing so poorly now? It isn’t block scheduling, it is a lack of discipline, time management, catering to the educational fad of the day, and getting away from core curriculum that all contribute to the challenges faced today.

College students are much older and more mature than middle school students. It affects their attention span.

[Anonymous]

The reason schools went to block scheduling has nothing to do with academics. The counties noticed that most behavioral incidents occurred during passing time. Solution? Keep kids in class longer so they're not in the halls as much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids loved block scheduling. They went to a secondary school so they had block from 7-12. They enjoyed not having homework in every class every day, enjoyed only focusing on a few classes a day, and having more days between classes to finish assignments.

Right? And they like dessert with every meal too.

We don't do things because kids like them, or because they are convenient for adults, we do them because they are best for kids. Or at least, we should.

How on earth is block scheduling where there is more time to focus on the subject every other day remotely equivalent to dessert, which is an extra treat? Many teachers strongly prefer teaching in the block models and feel it’s better for students.

Obviously many educators prefer block scheduling, that's why FCPS has it. That doesn't mean it's the best way for students to learn.

Prove this.

It's much more proven that outsourcing the teaching of grammar to Lexia for elementary kids is harmful. Can we change that first since it's shown in study after study?

Consider when your child (or you) learns something - swimming lessons, riding a bike, music lessons, a foreign language, anything. Taking a lesson once a week is a very slow way to learn a skill. Taking two or three lessons a week is better, but often children need to swim every day before they actually learn to swim. The music instructor will tell parents that it's better to practice for 5-10 minutes 5 times a week rather than for an hour on the weekend. Daily sports practice is what the best athletes do. Etc. Our brains learn best by doing something every day, not two or three times a week. This is intuitive when we think of skills. Why is it hard to believe about school?

My kid takes pitching lessons. She has a lesson every other week. She practices >4x/week (out of season and in). In traditional schooling models class is a lesson and homework is the practice. Or at least this is true in MS/HS - less so in ES, but even then it can work in the upper ES grades.

Uh, kids with block scheduling are not doing math homework every night. They do it every other night. That's exactly the problem.

Well the other problem is the math curriculum in FCPS is absolutely garbage.

No, they assign more work so it often takes 2 nights to do it.

Not for my MSer. Minimal math homework one or two nights a week, maybe.

Class either meets twice or 3 times a week so once a week isn’t even possible. Liar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Block scheduling is the worst.

My kids text me during the day (what happened to the no phone policy???) and I’m always asking why are you texting in the middle of class. They always tell me that they are done with all their work and their teacher told them they can do whatever. This happens too often. There is a good 20-30 minutes at the end of every class where the kids are just playing around. Ask your kids. Ask their friends.

I don’t blame the teachers for this at all. They can’t keep kids focused for that long.

Kids need math every day. They need language every day. Feel free to argue with me, but you won’t convince me otherwise.

By the time they are seniors, it’s possible that they are ready for block scheduling, but up until that point they just aren’t.

Taking short breaks and walking through the halls to switch classes is so beneficial. It clears their heads so they can focus better. It’s also good for their health.

Block scheduling is great for science and labs, but that’s pretty much it.

I’ve never seen any studies on this, but Id think kids retain information better when exposed to it daily.

It isn't that teachers can't keep kids focused that long. We are explicitly told that we are not permitted to do direct instruction for more than 15-20 minutes, and our evaluations reflect that directive.

Class discussion with a smart group of peers was an enjoyable part of class when I was in school.
Our teachers didn’t lecture the entire session.

So you want 15-20 minutes of direct instruction and then 70-75 minutes of class discussion?

What works best, but is in contrast to the current fad of utilizing stations and independent work with teacher conferences, is a 20-25 minute lesson, then discussion and application, with additional practice (homework) at home. The next day, review the homework, do another lesson, practice and apply, and then assign homework. Daily 45-minute classes are best, at least in middle school. Stations and extended independent work blocks are a waste of time.

You can do this educational model in block scheduling as well. It was how TJ taught in the early 2000s.

Tell that to administrators who chastise teachers for whole-group instruction for more than 15-20 minutes in a block.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every day is a much better way for anyone and everyone to learn. Every other day is not.

Math classes, music classes, foreign language classes know this and explicitly prefer traditional period scheduling. English classes and science classes want longer classes for labs - but those don't happen every class.

Block scheduling is one of the several reasons for the decline of education and resulting lowered test scores of the past 10-15 years. Why do educators choose methods that reduce learning and education?

Because educators aren’t allowed to make their own decisions anymore. The state/ county mandates what they can and can’t do.

[Anonymous]

I think there should be a mix like at my high school growing up. We had 9 periods a day and scgedule varied from A/B day. PE would alternate with an elective. Every other day we would have a double science and math block and history were daily 45 minute blocks.

Best of both worlds!