A year into the new 7-period schedule, students still miss elements of block scheduling.

By Airelyn Trimmer, Alisha Tschetter, and Kiana Woodward

According to a survey the Pine Needle conducted with 109 Central students, only 25.7 % of students prefer 7-period scheduling compared to block scheduling. Another 53.2% prefer the block, while the rest remain indifferent.

Many comments from the survey mentioned that a 7-period day ruined their plans for high school and restricted the electives that they could take in one school year. A 7-period schedule only allows for 7 credits unless you want a zero hour, which is simply not feasible for everyone to do. The work, life, and school balance is difficult enough, and getting to school an hour earlier everyday is simply not possible for everyone, especially those who work after school. On the other hand, last year students could earn 8 credits from just having a normal schedule. This students’ survey was sent out to sophomores, juniors, and seniors and asked which scheduling they preferred.

Not only were students interviewed, but also 4 teachers. To start out with what the teachers said, Gretchen Bilton, a social studies teacher in the freshmen pod, said, “To me, I wish we could find a happy medium. Longer than 50 minutes but shorter than an hour and a half.” And this is true, teachers are barely able to get the class started before it’s over. Likewise, planning is a “nightmare” according to a teacher who decided to remain anonymous. Even in the student survey, one junior at Central High School mentioned that most of their teachers would lecture or speak for up to 30-40 minutes and leave little to no time to actually complete work!

Out of the four teachers we interviewed, one preferred block scheduling, two preferred 7-period days, and one mentioned a great idea, the fact that it simply depends on the class. Some classes like math should be classes we have everyday, math concepts are easy to forget after a whole day and attending multiple other classes. On the other hand, science classes would be easier if they were longer simply because we are doing a lot of labs and it can be difficult when they are split up into multiple days. But, who are we to decide which is more beneficial?

Many students stated in the scheduling survey that if they miss one day this year they miss all 7 classes instead of 4. According to a junior, block scheduling was “easier to keep up with” and the student went on to explain that having to switch to 7 different subjects while making up work they missed is not only annoying but, it is hard for their brain to process so many different concepts and learning processes in a single day.

Another sophomore student at Central stated on the survey that a block period schedule actually motivated him. He went on to explain that if he missed a day of school, making up only four subjects was much more feasible than all 7 at once. Another student from the survey stated that it’s too much homework in one night; with block scheduling they had that night and the next night to complete work before they had that class again. Having four classes to do in one night is more feasible due to the fact that you only have to focus on four different classes. Overall, students prefer block scheduling and have many strong reasonings for that.