Enlight21

Author: Ryan Yang | Category: School | Date: 02-17-2020

This year, Carlmont High School is testing a new bell schedule in an attempt to lower the pressure students on a daily basis. The new schedule has brought forth a new block schedule where on Wednesdays and Thursdays, students take three 2-hour class periods with a 30 minute free period. Teachers and the administration have found the new schedule to be very useful, arguing that the schedule should continue to be used in the following years. On the other hand, students have expressed their concerns regarding the schedule change, calling for a return to the original, non-block schedule. As a student myself, I believe that Carlmont High School should discontinue the new schedule and return to the original one because students struggle to productively learn with the longer block periods.

It is necessary to step away from the newly created bell schedule as students are unable to learn to the best of their ability with the longer classes. Many teachers will argue that the long periods should in turn help students with their learning abilities as lectures will not be rushed and students will have more time to ask questions to further expand their knowledge on the specific material being taught. At first glance, this argument may seem rather reasonable and valid; however, the deeper you think about it, you will realize that their assertion is actually flawed. This is because these teachers do not consider the capability of students to fully concentrate while sitting for such long periods of time. Students in fact will struggle to maintain their focus during the long class periods, making it evident that the unrushed along with the extra time to ask questions will not benefit students or improve their learning abilities. Furthermore, in my last block period on Thursday, I often notice my classmates complaining about the long periods and I even spot some falling asleep during the lecture. In stating this, I am emphasizing that students are not gaining a better learning experience with the new schedule that enforces longer class periods. Rather than productively learning, students are actually falling asleep during lectures as shown through my observations in my last block period on Thursday. This means that students are attaining much less with the block schedule that they would be with the original bell schedule. Consequently, as students are not improving their learning with the new schedule and instead degrading it, Carlmont High School should refrain from further use of the newly created schedule and return to its original bell schedule.  

As shown through my observations, Carlmont has clearly failed to achieve their goals of lowering the pressure students experience through the new schedule. It is clear that the long block periods play a decisive role in hindering their learning abilities, and thus, it is only right to step away from the new schedule and to return to the original one for the sake of us students as well as to bring forth the best possible learning experience.

About: Ryan Yang