Now that we have had two months to adjust, the majority of Wayne Hills students have developed a love-hate relationship with our new block scheduling regime. Although this new schedule helps lessen the daily homework load in some cases, many students have shared their opinions on its various downsides.

The new format has proven to be quite problematic, creating and exacerbating various educational issues. Proponents of block scheduling assert that its lengthened time allows students to engage in “active learning”, encouraging them to become more involved in the classroom.

However, the majority of teachers make no attempt at stimulating this proponent of student participation. Instead, the excess time is dedicated to redundant lectures and watered down material, spiraling the entire classroom into a state of outright boredom. Thus, it is quite clear that the prolonged classes have a detectable correlation with academic inefficiency.

“The days feel so long, and the blocks seem to drag on forever. I can barely stay focused in class anymore. I really miss 42 minutes periods!” said Senior Sara Shalaby.

“The lack of continuity that corresponds with block scheduling has been really bothering me. If I miss a day of math, for instance, I find it difficult to jump right back into the lesson the following day without a review of what we were learning beforehand,” said Junior Gabby Fishgrund.

By reducing hours students spend in certain classes on a daily basis, it can easily lead students to lose their retention of classwork and material during off days. To a much lesser degree, it’s almost similar to the infamous summer vacation slump, in which one forgets almost all of the knowledge they learned the previous year. 

 “I was recently absent for a few days and it has taken me forever to make up what I have missed. Since the blocks are so long, I missed a lot more work in each class than normal. It’s been an entire week and I am still behind,” said Junior Elise Kosoy.

Kids occasionally need a sick day here and there. It happens. But, the block scheduling format makes it even more difficult to catch up on the missed learning materials from each class, especially if it involves assessments. 

While the schedules do seem to mix up our natural school routines and add a bit of excitement to our day, there seems to be some serious drawbacks. After experiencing the ups and downs of block scheduling for a fraction of the year, these nuisances have become increasingly evident to members of the Wayne Hills Student body. As of right now, it’s clearly questionable whether or not the pros of the newly implemented rotating blocks can outweigh the cons.