BY OLIVIA CEDENO
As students and staff piled back into the hallways of OBHS, block scheduling presented obstacles and advantages.
The daily schedule formerly ran for 45 minutes a period; blocks now span 86 minutes, which has received mixed reviews from students. Sophomore Jiya Patel showed opposition to the long periods, saying she “does not like the block scheduling because we spend too much time in one classroom.”
To accommodate the longer periods each day only contains four blocks instead of the original eight and alternates between A and B days, with students attending each class every other day. Siena Santamaria shared, “I prefer block scheduling because being an athlete, I can get home late and then have to finish my homework at midnight. Having the block scheduling allows homework and assignments to not be due the next day, which allows me extra time to do the work.”
This added time also comes with its downfalls. Patel added, “I am in AP US History, and since the class is already fast paced, we have to take a quiz every class because every class we cover at least one chapter.”
With the built-in one-day break between each class, students must juggle the workload in a longer time frame. Alexa Stepper gave her insight: “The schoolwork is easier since we have a day or two to do the work instead of the next day.” Every student has his or her personal level of struggle or ease in each class.
Workload varies for each student and class. Santamaria explained, “it varies with classes. I get more in math and English than in Spanish and science.” Though students like Deeanna Saborido reported it’s “Not as much as I’m used to.”
Block scheduling has provided a new experience for generating diverse responses. Despite these views, the student body and staff must adjust to block scheduling as the new normal for now and future classes.
Posted 12/21/21
Photos by Madison Benner and Lors Photography
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