Jodi-FL Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 is anyone else in a district that does this? we just moved to a district that does block scheduling and i'm having trouble getting classes where my kids feel challenged enough. this school seems to think everywhere else in the usa does block scheduling and our school in florida was just behind the times. at least they were challenged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaLee Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 The fundemental high school where my dd would go has been doing block scheduling starting the year after I graduated there, so in 1994. It seems to work well for them. They are, however the only school in the (very large) district that I know does this. They also require about 60 more units to graduate than the other high schools, so the kids are required to take 8 classes a semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I had block scheduling when I went through HS, but now the same school is doing trimesters. I really liked block scheduling for the sheer fact that I didn't have to carry all my books with me every single day, and instead of only 6 or 7 classes, I was in 8 (well, 9 if you count the fact that one of my classes typically swapped at the semester mark). I was definitely challenged, so I would say that is a problem with the school rather than the fault of block scheduling... though I could see big issues with signing up for classes late using a block scheduling method since classes fill up faster. No experience in almost 10 years, though, so I have no idea how things have changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 We really didn't like it. One problem was that the teachers tended to pile on the homework but a lot of it was busy work. It seems like they wasted a lot of time in class but then had enormous amounts of homework. We also didn't like the fact that you could have math 1st semester freshman year and then not until 2nd semester sophomore year. It seems like a lot would be forgotten by then. The same was true for foreign languages. The only thing dd liked was only having 4 classes at a time. Also she seemed to have most of her harder classes first semester and easier classes 2nd semester. It was very difficult for her to get all the homework done 1st semester. (I'm talking 5+ hours a night with more on weekends) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 They are doing it in public schools here. It allows them to complete 8 credits per year rather than the traditional 7. It's not considered less challenging here. Kids are still in AP or IB classes if they choose. Those classes still teach to year-end tests that haven't changed, so far as I know. Are you finding that block scheduling where you live is equal to less work getting accomplished? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Our district does blocks for some classes (English, science, history), and traditional for others (math, foreign languages, band/orchestra/vocal). My dd will start next year, so I don't have any personal experience yet, but most of the parents I know seem happy with it. They feel their kids are challenged adequately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodi-FL Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 there are 5 periods in the day, so they get 4 classes (the 5th period is 30 min. lunch, 50 minutes "flex" which is study hall, meet with your counselor/library, etc.). but they want them to take 2 challenging classes (like english, history, foreign language or math) and then 2 "easy" classes (like p.e., cooking, etc.). well, my 15yo freshman son has his 2 "hard" classes before lunch/flex so he gets all his homework done then and feels like the rest of the day is a breeze/waste. also, i have 3 in high school--2 daughters, one is a senior and one is a sophomore. all 3 kids say they'll take a test or do presentations, and after 45 minutes (classes are 80 minutes long) the teachers will show a movie or give them the rest of the class off because they "worked so hard". ??? i don't understand how this will really help them accomplish a full years worth of information if they're truly not utilizing the whole 80 minutes of class. i understand every now and then, but this is every week. and this school district doesn't give a week of spring break, but gives friday or monday off about twice a month, so they really only get 2 full weeks of school a month. i'm also concerned about the sophomore, who really struggles with math, if she doesn't get a math class every semester in a row. and i admit i'm having trouble giving up control after 10+ years of homeschooling them, there's just so much wasted time.... and i miss them. thanks for your thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katemary63 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 My older two were in HS when our district went to block scheduling. For some, it works great. My DD23 had no problem with it and took AP classes. My DS22 has severe ADD. I went in to talk to a school counselor and ask her what the plan is for ADD kids. You know, going from 45 minutes classes to 90 minute classes when they couldn't even take the 45 minute classes??? She says, "The ADD kids are falling apart and no one knows what to do about it." She had no answer for me except to agree that it was going to be hard for him. So, for that and other reasons, I moved my son to a different school. By the way, he was scheduled math first semester of freshman year. I asked the counselor how they expected an ADD kid or any kid for that matter to pick up math after a year or more off? She just stared at me blank faced and raised her hands in an "I don't know" gesture. I asked her WHY on earth were they doing block scheduling and she said it was for money. You can pay less teachers to teach more kids with block scheduling. This was the school counselor. I think she knew what she was talking about. Anyway, we didn't stick around to find out how it would go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 quite a few years ago, a new principal came into the local high school and decided she was going to implement block scheduling. Well, there was an uproar from parents (I heard that the school board meetings, with the parents was quite intense). Anyway, the idea was dropped and a couple of years after that the principal transferred to the primary school here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen in OH Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 My son is a freshman in his HS. Block scheduling is not working in our school district. The teachers teach for 45 minutes and then give the students homework for the rest of the 45 minutes. So my husband and I think they are not learning the full content. The school district is changing it next year to a traditional class schedule. Helen in OH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBre Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I have never heard of "block scheduling". Can someone explain it and exactly how it's different than a regular high school schedule? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I have never heard of "block scheduling". Can someone explain it and exactly how it's different than a regular high school schedule? For my dd this is how it worked. Each quarter the student had 4 classes lasting approximately 90 minutes each. Most academic classes lasted 2 quarters (a semester). Elective classes such as art and some other required classes like geography or computers only lasted one quarter (9 weeks). In most schools and the way I had it in high school you have 7 or 8 classes. Academic classes like math and english last the whole year but most elective classes like art just last one semester. The classes are only 45 minutes long. I believe some schools have a different kind of block scheduling where the student has certain classes on M, W and F and other classes on T and TH. I think the biggest drawback for us was that instead of getting 90 minutes of academics they would have one lesson and then fillers for the rest of the period. Especially freshman year a lot of the students couldn't handle 90 minutes of straight math for instance. In theory it is supposed to allow the teacher time for longer lessons, class discussions, etc. and allows the student to only focus on 4 classes at a time. The problem is that my dd had tons and tons of homework and a lot of it was busywork. She only had geography for 9 weeks so they had to cram a lot in. In one given day she might have book work, a paper to write and a project to do, which were all due the next day. I also disliked the fact that they could have something like math their first semester of one grade and then not again until the 2nd semester of the other grade. This would mean there would be a whole year in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I believe some schools have a different kind of block scheduling where the student has certain classes on M, W and F and other classes on T and TH. This is closer to what we had. We had "A" days and "B" days, and they alternated, so one week you would have A days on M/W/F and the next week A days would be T/Th. You had different classes each day. I would not be thrilled about the idea of only having for classes a semester because you're right - a LOT would be forgotten. With the A/B schedule, you went to four classes on A day and another 4 classes on B day. If you had sports or band (I was a band nerd), your first or last class of the day could be "split" so that you had 2 45-minute classes each day for your first or fourth block instead of another 90-minute class. We had our core subjects all year and you were allowed to swap up to two of your electives at the semester mark (being in band, I only ever swapped one). Scheduling was a pain because some classes could only be scheduled in certain blocks. For example, my German course was a satellite course from a state college and the broadcast was at 10 a.m., so I had to have German as my second block. Because of the split classes, homeroom was block A2. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 My ds's school does this. There seems to be 2 ways it's done. Neither should affect the level of instruction your child recieves. Some schools do this with have half the classes meet half the year and then switching to the other half of the child's schedule for the rest of the year. --I feel bad for the family that moves in or out of such a district during the year. My son's school has A and B days. There are 4 periods a day. He has 4 classes one day and 3 the next. On the 3 period day there is a period when everyone is in a study period and assigned to a specific class for period --no new material is taught, the teacher may reteach or do a study period, student may get permission to attend a different class than the assigned (if the study periods happens to be assigned to their French class that day and they need to see the trig teacher they can switch). Some school don't have the study period--they have one class that meets everyday and the remaining 6 meet for double periods everyother day. My son takes a very rigorous course load which may lead to an IB diploma. His only challenge is being organized, but he would be disorganized under any schedule. This school system offered this level of course load before introducing block schedules. Students can take 6 years of foreign language, 2 years of calculus and any number of courses that would prep you for AP or IB exams. It's not block scheduling that affects the level of instruction. I have to agree with one of the other posters: one of the pluses is only having to carry half your books each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaof2andtwins Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Our school district uses it, but since we don't attend I don't know much about how they implement it. Jennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fast1 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I think you should ask to your shool district supervisor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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