The block schedule weeks that took place between March 20 and April 19 have prompted many different opinions from students.
Carlmont made a temporary change in its schedule due to required testing for juniors and seniors. Instead of having the usual fifty-minute period, classes were stretched to an hour and forty-five minutes long. Due to the extra time, students are offered an eighteen-minute break in addition to lunch.
Many believe that block scheduling is beneficial because it gives more time for homework in the longer class periods.
“I like block schedule because it gives me an extra day to get all my work done. Also, if I need help on homework, I have the option to go in and receive help before I need to turn it in,” Josie Ceragioli, a freshman, said.
Though many students like having a block schedule, some feel as if the periods are too long; many find it difficult to concentrate during the longer periods.
“I prefer block schedule over our normal schedule, but an hour and forty-five minutes is too long for me. If the periods were shortened by just fifteen minutes, it would help a lot; it’s hard for most students to stay focused and on-task for such a long period of time,” Caleb Joya, a sophomore, said.
Not only is it hard for students to get through the period, but teachers struggle with block schedules as well. They are responsible for keeping all of the students occupied and giving them enough work to fill up the time.
“Often, by the end of the period, we are left doing nothing because we finish all the work faster than expected. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, because I can finish my homework or work on stuff from other classes. It makes it easier when I get home so I don’t have so much work piled up,” Keyanna Blos, a freshman, said.
Block schedule can be advantageous for the school if the period lengths are reasonable. Though students struggle with the current, temporary block schedule, they look forward to shorter and more constructive block schedules in the future.
“I hope that in the future we can have a block schedule that is shorter than the recent ones because they are a lot more beneficial,” Joya said.