Reply to Block Schedules

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "Block Schedules"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]The following is a list of comments by Williamsburg Middle School teachers in a survey conducted early last year. I pulled it off the Facebook post I mentioned earlier.

* Not fit for middle school students - too long of a time period

* Students lose too much meeting every other day. Been there done that

* I abstain! I do not support, nor oppose block scheduling.. Go Chelsea!

* Some courses require daily meetings as they are more skill-based than other courses. And
skill-based content courses, particularly at the middle school level, need to be practiced daily

* Too long of classes for middle school students

* Of the choices this was the one to best express my hesistancy. I would suggest, like the
backpack initiative, that we actually hold to the bell schedule for one quarter and see what the
results are. We've never been on the same page(as teachers and admin) in enforcing the
current schedule. Many teachers following their own ideas and there is no visable admin.
support in the hallways during transition times(not that I've seen...). Let's please try to make the
current schedule work and then go from there. But it must be a very obvious school-wide
initiative with strong admin support. I suggest we try this for the remainder of the school year
with a commitee looking at the results. We are a very successful school, one of the highest rated
in the state...let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.

* I've done an A/B schedule, and it doesn't work for this age group. They forget materials and can't
remember from one day to next. Also, holidays create extra long periods of time with no
exposure.

* Students need math every day. I have taught using a block schedule before (for 5+ years) and
for mathematics it is very difficult for students to learn multi-step problem solving when they only
practice it twice a week or 3 times a week. Students need a little bit of math every day to master
the calculations and the methods for solving. The block schedule is also very difficult for 12 year
olds as far as organization is concerned.

* Attention span of our students is short enough in a class period of 43 minutes; I believe it would
be difficult to keep their attention during longer blocks. Additionally, I believe the students do
better when they meet every day for a class. I would like more information about how a
proposed block schedule would be implemented: what woulod be the advantages, what are the
additional impacts, how long would the blocks be ... can there be a trial period...

* Seeing students of this age every other day (or every fourth or fifth day with weather) is not
helpful for student retention. I have many years of teaching experience in a block schedule - my
conclusion is that it is certainly not better overall, and at times can be worse than a traditional
schedule; it just seems to be another way to do the same thing (more "gimmicky" than anything
else). What would be gained by switching? How many students would benefit? How will these
gains be measured? These questions, to my knowledge, have never been answered in the APS
discussions of block over the last several years.

* not good for middle school students

* I think we should preserve the traditional 45 minute period. The current class time is an
appropriate amount of time for a student of this age to focus on a particular subject for one dayanything
more than this time span will result in attention and retention loss. I think that it is APS’s
responsibility to either add more space or more teachers to address the problem. Don’t put it on
the kids. We would be pushing them in a trailer and sticking them on the block, because it is
what works best for the school/county. One of the reasons this went down in a ‘ball of flames’
before was because it was not data driven and the parents saw through it. The best data for BS
is at the college or upper high school level. New data is clear that when BS is applied to younger
students is detrimental to their education.

* I am familiar with block schedule, having worked with it in schools in Arlington. For classes that
require consistent participation, practice, and concentration like theatre, band and some other
electives, block schedule is not as effective as daily repetition.
1. Students have trouble sitting still for extended periods (please see this article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/03/a-therapist-goes-to-middleschool-
and-tries-to-sit-still-and-focus-she-cant-neither-can-the-kids/) 2. ESOL students need
focused English language training everyday, and I worry that block scheduling will not provide
that. 2. Kids need to move. The lack of physical activity at recess every day is already hampered
by the iPads in the cafeteria. 3. One absence puts a student at a major disadvantage upon their
return. 4. Some (most) SPED and HILT students do not have the endurance to sustain
engagement for a full 90 minute class. I only have anecdotal evidence based on personal
observation, but I feel these particular students would suffer as a result of block scheduling.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics