The early 1990s marked the beginning of major education reform in America's public schools. High school academic calenders were a primary focus of this reform. The four period block schedule was widely adopted over the traditional academic calendar in order to improve student performance, prepare graduates for college, and reduce discipline issues. Twenty years later, following flat academic performance, many of these schools are choosing to revert back to versions of the traditional eight-period school day. Several amendable factors are inhibiting the success of the block schedule. Rather than lapsing into a model already deemed ineffective, schools that have adopted the block schedule need to take a holistic approach to the educational environment by focusing on continuous staff development, curriculum design, parental involvement, and overall institutional morale. The block schedule emerged out of the education reform movement, becoming popular following 1994 National Education Goals set forth by Congress to mandate outcome-based education in the American Public School system (Queen, 2009, p. 88). Later, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 cemented these standards by obligating federal education funds on the basis of performance on quantitative assessments (Queen, 2001, p. 92). School districts reacted by seeking innovative strategies that would give their students an advantage. The block schedule offered a viable solution by arranging the year to allow four 90-minute periods of intense study for a semester rather than eight 45-minute classes for the entire school year. This promised more time for teachers to prepare lessons, a reduction in unproductive class transition protocol such as attendance, and the freedom to... ... middle of paper ... ... block: that’s not the question. The Journal of Educational Research, 95, 196-202. Retrieved from http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/00220671.asp Norton, M. K. (2010). A study of the impact of block scheduling on student achievement in public high schools (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis database. (AAT 3397428) Queen, J. A. (2009). The block scheduling handbook. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Slate, J., & Jones, J. (2000). Students' perspectives on block scheduling: reactions following a brief trial period. The High School Journal, 83 (3), 55-55. Retrieved from http://soe.unc.edu/hsj/ Veal, W. (2000). Teaching and student achievement in science: a comparison of three different schedule types. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 11:B, 251-275. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/1046-560X
From the beginning of high school, students strap on their seatbelts and prepare for one of the most vigorous races of their lives – becoming successful. With the rare occurrence of a break, kids are expected to keep on driving as fast and as powerfully as they can in order to get into a “great” college, which would be followed by graduate school and then an actual job that would make a lot of money. In American society, common values include working hard, determination, and being so productive that free time is not even a question. However, this philosophy is taking a major toll on American college and high school students. For at least 40 years, America’s future has been steadily growing unmotivated, tired, and hopeless due to the overemphasis on performing well in school. This phenomenon is appropriately expounded in William Zinsser’s “College Pressures”, which takes a look at the top four sources of tension that cause these feelings of dejection and agitation. After reading this article, I came up with a few solutions to this national problem. It is time to switch the harsh, over-encouraging green light of education to a comfortable yellow one. In order to make this ideal transition, directors of education across the country need to primarily reduce the amount of out-of-class assignments, lighten the grading system, and incorporate days in the school year that allow students to express their thoughts about school and provide useful feedback.
The founders of the American public school system had a dream that all of America’s youth would have the opportunity to attend school in the best way possible for the times. The educational leaders of today must take up the same mission of providing the best school system imaginable for our modern era. Yearlong education is the solution to many problems that plague teachers, students, and school budgets.
The traditional school calendar has been in effect for more than a century. By the middle of the nineteenth century rural areas the school year lasted for five to six months, based on the harvest schedule. In contrast, many schools in urban areas were open for eleven or twelve months. A uniform calendar was established in 1847 that is the traditional calendar of today. (Shields, 2000) There was resistance to this calendar from the beginning; people in urban areas had to go to school from much longer to receive the same education. YRE began in a premature form in 1904 in Bluffton, Indiana with a four-quarter schedule. (Speck, n.d.) YRE began to be popular in states like Texas, New Jersey, North Dakota, Nebraska, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. It ceased during WWII because national uniformity was felt to be essential to the war effort. Hayward, CA implemented at official YRE programs at Park Elementary School in 1968 to become the first YRE school after WWII. (Speck, n.d.) YRE schools began to sprout up all over the country after that. In 1969 the first multiple tract school was established in Missouri. Since the late 70’s YRE has picked up in popularity and is a continuing trend. According to the National Association for Year-Round Education, more than 2 million students attend close to 3,000 year-round schools in 41 states and 610 school districts, which is a dramatic increase compared to the early 1990’s. There have been a variety of YRE schedules and currently there is the choice of single or multi-track, options within both of those, and an extended school year.
United States. National Center for Education Statistics. Long-Term Trends in Student Science Performance. Sep. 1998. Web. 2 May 2009. .
Throughout time education has been considered a process that every so often must be improved. The education quality in the U.S. has declined over the years and people have been looking for a way to make improvements. A more recent proposal has been to go from a traditional nine-month schedule to an all year program. Supporters of year round school claim it gives the student a better education. However, the prospect of year round school is not beneficial to the taxpayers pocket, to the education a student receives, or to the people involved with the district.
Having block scheduling is one of the main concerns of the Aldine Independent School District. Block scheduling is when students have half of their classes one day and the other half the next. There has been some complaints about how block scheduling decreases students’ focus, but there has also been many compliments about how it improves students’ education. Michael D. Rettig, President of School Scheduling Associates, states that more schools are considering block scheduling and more than thirty percent of schools in the country already have it [bandwagon]. The Aldine Independent School District has made the reasons remarkably clear as to why they have switched to block scheduling and they are: better test scores, better grades, and improvement of teacher-student interaction.
Family vacations, pool memberships, and corn de-tasseling; these have been the experiences of traditional Midwestern summers. For centuries young American children have attended school during the winter months, during farming off seasons when their families could afford to be without them. Families have grown accustomed to a traditional school calendar that provides time for bonding throughout the year. Students have grown accustomed to an eight week break during the summer months where they are allowed to refresh their minds before returning for a new school year. Unfortunately, these traditional experiences and practices are now in jeopardy. In today’s race to improve student achievement, traditional school calendars have become a point of contention. Today more and more school districts and parents alike have begun to debate the pros and cons of an alternative school calendar.
Mayer, R.E. (2010). Applying the science of learning to instruction in school subjects. In R. J. Marzano (Ed.), On excellence in teaching, (pp. 92-111). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Michael, S.et al. (2008). Prospects for improving K-12 science education from the federal level. Journal of Education 69(9): 677-683.
Bartlett, S and Burton, B (2007) Introduction to education studies. 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Today however, the role of the modern public school is beginning to change. The United States is no longer an agrarian society. As a result, people feel that the traditional school calendar is too old-fashioned a...
Curfew advocates may argue that it is important to monitor your child and have them follow a strict schedule, but due to a teen’s rapidly changing day it is almost impossible to determine an accurate schedule that a teen can follow on a strict basis. Between athletics, homework, work, and the necessary social activities an average student participates in, causes there to be too little time in the day. According to the National Education Association, 12th grade students should spend about two hours of their night on homework every night. Student athletes spend about three hours a day between practice and working out (Thompson). Many students experience more than two hours of homework because they are taking more rigorous classes than other students. With some students having more than two hours of homework and at least three hours of athletics, not only is it strenuous on the student but it is also forcing them to do their homework later into the night. If a student lacks the necessary requirements to complete the assignment then they may need to stay out later than curfew would allow them. Although, school work is an acceptable reason if it is occurring too often then it could result in the parents’ misconception that the child is lying. Not only do curfews struggle to apply to teens, but they are also discriminating against teens.
Selley, Chris. "Go on, sleep in: Toronto schools mull shifting classes to 11:30 to help dozing students." Maclean's 19 Nov. 2007: 158. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2012.
Milner, A. R., Sondergeld, T. A., Demir, A., Johnson, C. C., & Czerniak, C. M. (2012). Elementary teachers' beliefs about teaching science and classroom practice: An examination of Pre/Post NCLB testing in science. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 23(2), 111-132. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1011395880?accountid=14789
Time management is one of the most crucial factors to college success for every student in college. Firstly, while living on campus, time usually isn’t an issue to students because they live on school grounds. There are many advantages that come with time and one of them is getting to class on time. However, this is actually the opposite for commuters because getting to class on time is quite a struggle. They have to struggle to wake up earlier than usual in order to use the public transportation. Students living on campus also have more access to on-site facilities because they don’t have to worry about going home so there is no time limit on how long they occupy these areas. An example is staying in the library because this is where you can get help from tutors on subjects you are struggling with. Also, they can use the writing center for as long as it is open without worrying about time. In contrast, commuters are limited to the use of these facilities because they have to take time into consideration while staying at the library or work...