As I write this I am more than halfway through my student teaching field experience.  I have enjoyed my time at Genoa-Kingston High School teaching geography and history.  My cooperating teacher has given me freedom to try out different teaching strategies so that I will have a better idea as to what works and what does not when I have classes of my own.

            The reason for this article is to discuss the pros and cons of working on a block schedule.  First of all, not all of you reading this article may know what a block schedule is, so I will give you a quick rundown.  At Genoa-Kingston it is designed as follows:  Every student is signed up for four (4) classes.  Each of these classes is 85 minutes in length.  Each class is designated for “A” days and “B” days.  Essentially every student has two schedules, one that he/she must follow on an “A” day and one that he/she must follow on a “B” day.  Every other day is either an “A” or “B” day.  Each day consists of four periods that are 85 minutes in length.  This leaves approximately 30 minutes at the end of the day once lunch and passing time are factored into the equation.  Genoa-Kingston uses this time as a 30 minutes study hall for the students at the end of everyday.  It is also used for clubs to hold meetings and makeup tests/homework for absent students.

            This means that I also have an “A” day schedule as well as a “B” day schedule.  Every teacher gets one plan per day, meaning that we only have to teach three periods each day.  This is beneficial because as I mentioned the periods are 85 minutes long, meaning that I get an 85-minute prep period everyday.  As you can imagine, most of the teachers love that part of the block scheduling. There are also the obvious benefits of longer class periods, which allows for more activities during the day.

            Block scheduling does have its negative sides as well.  During a five day school week I see one set of classes three times and another set only twice.  This can become quite troublesome if someone is sick on a Tuesday and Thursday because when they return to class the following Monday it has been more than a week since the last time they had me in class.  The amount of time this student will have missed is 170 minutes of class time, or approximately four periods on a non-block schedule.  This can be troublesome for not only the teacher, but the student as well.  If the student needs to makeup a test, he/she will have missed far more information in two class periods on a block schedule than on a non-block schedule.

            There is also the disadvantage of not seeing the same students everyday.  It works out that I still see them the same amount of time overall as a teacher that is teaching on a non-block schedule, but I only see them every other day (sometimes this is a good thing depending on the mood of the class/students!)  Seeing them every other day does take away from some of the personal aspects of the teacher/student relationship.  For example, if a student is going through some personal issues away from school and the student has confided in you, it is beneficial to see that student on a daily basis.  This is generally not possible on a block schedule.

            Overall I am very pleased with my experience thus far.  I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching high school students.  Coming into my student teaching placement I was a bit unsure if high school was the age I wanted, but now I know.  My students are bright, inquisitive, enthusiastic, and best of all…they are still kids!!!  Yes they are a bit older and may do many of the same things that adults do, but at heart they are all still kids, sometimes I think many of the teachers forget about that.