Sorry, more than 3x a week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay so - so far one school (Blair) out of how many use them? Not impressed

Not impressed with what? Block scheduling doesn't work for everyone. My kid hated it, and much preferred the 45 minute periods. Is there underlying research that proves that block scheduling is better for HS students? Some classes like languages, even in college, meet 4-5 times a week because the continually focus is thought to be better for knowledge acquisition.

I never had a class in college that was more than twice a week. Most AP classes like Chem, Physics, Statistics need more than 45min to teach, study, labs etc.. I think the reason there is so much HW is the teachers can't get it all in during that time frame. A 45min class is really 35-40min tops considering unpacking and getting ready. It isn't enough and the HW is piled on.

Anonymous wrote:Okay so - so far one school (Blair) out of how many use them? Not impressed

Not impressed with what? Block scheduling doesn't work for everyone. My kid hated it, and much preferred the 45 minute periods. Is there underlying research that proves that block scheduling is better for HS students? Some classes like languages, even in college, meet 4-5 times a week because the continually focus is thought to be better for knowledge acquisition.

Argyle Middle does

Okay so - so far one school (Blair) out of how many use them? Not impressed

RM/IB doesn't use one.

Blair does block scheduling.

QO does not have block schedule. It seems like only Magnet or IB schools have them.

Walter Johnson doesn't do block schedules either. My kids really wished they did have it. Their previous school had block scheduling, and they found the longer classes not meeting every day really cut down on the homework pressure and made it easier to focus on what was being taught in each subject.

Whitman does not have a block schedule and one of the things the kids like in the transition from Pyle to Whitman is the end of the block schedule.

Blair also uses a mostly block schedule.

Takoma Park Middle School does block schedules with 4 classes per day

Anonymous wrote:Many schools in the area are doing it. The con seems to be that each teacher has to keep the kids engaged for a double period.

What publics in MCPS do this?

Regarding the length of time sitting, have you ever considered a standing or treadmill desk? Not just for her but for you. Sitting is a really unhealthy thing. I know this technically has no bearing on the length of time doing homework, but I hate to see schools ignore all the recent research about the problems with sitting for long periods.

Thanks very much for your recommendation! I never considered that. I especially like the standing desk.

I think the three main high schools in Arlington use block scheduling (not sure about HB Woodlawn), and at least one of the middle schools does (Kenmore), though I know Swanson MS does not.