By: Allison Alvarez
Recently there has been talk of switching El Diamante’s block period to an all-period schedule in the next school year. While some people at El Diamante love this idea, others disagree.
El D’s block periods consist of a total of three out of the six periods on alternating days, each lasting almost two hours (110 minutes). They rotate odd and even Tuesday through Thursday, with Monday being the only day with all periods 1-6.
Senior Nicholas Reynoso claims that, “Block periods are more like a college-type schedule and we have time to finish our work”.
With longer classes that are a few times a week, it prepares students for their years after high school. Many upper classroom seem to like the block schedule because it allows them extra time to work and more days to complete assignments.
Senior Morgan Phillipe agrees, commenting that, “Block periods give us more time to do our work so we have less homework”.
This type of schedule allows teachers to thoroughly cover more material as well.
Sports Medicine and Kinesiology teacher Ms. Guzman says she prefers block because, “for certain classes like Kinesiology, Anatomy, and Sports Medicine the time is nice for classes to do labs and take that information in better”.
The long class can be helpful as some labs prove to be time-consuming.
Civics and Economics teacher Mr. Perez believes [that] “block is better for Social Science classes because teachers can cover more on whatever they are teaching that day, especially for classes like Economics and Civics”.
Senior Rozlyn Williams claims that, “Block gives us a break from classes we don’t like.”
This brings me to my next point. What about students and teachers who don’t like the block schedule? Sure students get a break, but do students want to be in the classes that they struggle with or don’t enjoy for almost two whole hours? Instead, would it help students focus more if the class was shorter with a six-period schedule?
English teacher Mrs. Lopez prefers an all-period schedule because, “students sometimes don’t have the attention span for two hours of the same subject”. Block schedules can make it difficult to focus in class when the time is lengthy, especially if it is a subject that is difficult or not as enjoyable.
Senior Madeline Alvarez mentions that “Math class can be hard to focus on for that long of a time period sometimes”. Having all six periods gives students the opportunity to give their brains a break by moving on to another subject.
Sophomore Marley Crisp adds that, although she personally prefers the block schedule because it gives her more time to finish assignments, she knows many students who dislike the block schedule because, “They get bored in some classes because it’s so much time and it’s difficult [for them] to concentrate.
Both types of schedules have their pros and cons, it is all just a matter of preference. The next school year may possibly come with a new all-period schedule so for some this may be good news and for others it may be the opposite.
