Reply to "4x4" block at Wilson HS next year?

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Reply to ""4x4" block at Wilson HS next year?"

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[quote=Anonymous]Wilson is already on a 4x4 block schedule (4 classes per day). Now DCPS wants to change it to 4 classes per semester that you take every single day. So a year long class becomes a half year class.
As people have already stated, this is problematic for many reasons:
1) AP classes get affected terribly. You finish the AP class in December but the AP exam is not until May. Or you start it second semester and don't nearly have enough time in class before the AP exam.
The science APs are all double period so it will really limit what the science kids can take and cause big schedule headaches for them especially since DCPS forces everyone to also take all the PE, Art, Music and DC history electives. I wish they would let you get some PE credit for being on a school sports team or let you take an art class in the summer or something.
2) Math scores in general are deplorable across DCPS. Now math teachers and students will face an even bigger hurdle as they will have a 6 month gap before they are in a math class again.
Same issue with foreign language classes and English.
3) Wilson and I'm sure other DCPS schools seem to have a big issue with teacher absences (such as late teacher hiring, teacher quitting in the middle of the year, maternity and paternity leave, serious illness). All of this is so much easier to deal with in a year long class. It seems much more stressful and damaging when the teacher is not there for one advisory if the entire course is only two advisories.
4) Art and Health classes will become condensed into only one advisory. That seems crazy. I don't think the teachers or students will like that.
5) Kids and teachers like some variation. My kid has one teacher this year who gives hours of hw each class (AP class). It is doable because my kid has the class every other day. I don't think my child would handle it well if they had hours of hw for that one class every single day even if it was a shorter overall time period. It would be pure misery in our house for that one semester and I'm sure many kids follow the same pattern. 
6) My concern is that they may see even more truancy with this system. Some of these kids who are not showing up to school won't show up if they get stuck with 2-3 bad teachers in one semester or a long term substitute.  Teachers at Wilson are a mixed bag ranging from excellent to mediocre to incompetent. If you end up with 2 bad teachers one semester, that would be very depressing.

DCPS needs to focus on all their students not just the ones who are failing classes. What they really need to do for the failing kids, is to make sure that they hire good teachers across the board and make class sizes smaller so that teachers actually have time to pay attention to students. They also need more counselors in schools so that they actually have time to work with kids who are not doing well or not showing up to school and figure out what they really need. [/quote]

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