Opinion by Bailey Priborsky

Every day teachers explain new information and by the time they finish the basics the class has ended. The short class periods do not allow for any explanation of the new material. New topics are packed into your head without anytime to ask questions or get help. A normal seven period day does not benefit student’s learning experience.

With the longer periods that block scheduling provide, teachers are able to go more in depth with their lessons and do more creative activities to assist students that have different learning styles. More information would be covered in fewer days but thorough explanations would make sure no student would fall behind.

Along with more indepth lessons, teachers are also able to allot time during class to reassess. Instead of having the stress of not having time to meet teachers outside of school students would have one on one time in class to go over tests.

Studies show that with block scheduling, students’ test scores improve overall and their attitude toward school also improves. They also show that there are fewer failed classes and an improvement on grade point averages.

Block scheduling also allows students to take more classes during a school year than a normal seven period day. Classes would be 90 minutes long and there would be four classes every day that change every quarter. Teachers would have more time to collaborate, hold meetings, and prepare due to the longer time periods throughout the day and fewer classes to plan for at one time.

Changing the schedule to blocks at Mount Vernon High School would be beneficial for both students and teachers. The learning experience would be greatly improved and would help solve the problem of needing extra assistance outside of class.

Some say that block schedules would not help because students would lose focus or become bored due to the long classes. Yet this is not a true statement. Students and teachers are able to focus more than with shorter classes. It is proven that with block schedules that students pay attention more than normal because teachers are going more in depth with fewer topics. When teachers try to cover a broad range of topics in a short span of time it makes it harder to focus.

The benefits of block schedules make it a fantastic fit for MVHS. One on one attention would become more achievable and vital to learning. Students’ and teachers’ attitudes and comprehension would greatly increase.