Face-to-face conversations. Crowded lunch rooms. Long lines outside the Counselor’s Office. Interesting would be a more than adequate word to describe our beginning of the school year. And then there was the block schedule. I will admit that it took me a while before I could figure out when and  on what days I had which classes without looking at my schedule. I soon found out that my peers had similar thoughts.

Gesell Gonzalez ‘23 says that “When I first found out about the block schedule, I for sure thought I would hate it. It was so confusing that no one understood how to go about it, and the fact that I would have to learn three separate schedules and routes to my classes was already giving me a headache.” Dhruv Suchde ‘23 agrees, especially noting that the schedule looked very complicated at the beginning. Personally, the way that each class was structured (for instance, how we would have some classes each other day) reminded me a lot of remote learning, and made me uncertain  at first how a virtual learning schedule would look like in person. A little more than a month into school, I have answers.

Both Gesell and Dhruv agree they have different feelings for the block schedule now. Dhruv thinks “it turned out to be a lot simpler, even if it still is annoying sometimes.” To further explain, let’s take a look at the lunch periods now versus the old schedule from two years ago. The current schedule has four lunch periods, with 45 minutes for each, while the old schedule had six lunch periods, with sometimes 50 minutes for each. This means that all the lunch periods on the current schedule have been moved to an earlier time than it was before. For example, 3rd period lunch on the old schedule started close to and after 10 AM, but starts at 9:40 AM now. Yet I’m glad that for many people, the schedule turned out to be a lot simpler than it looked!
Gesell adds that “One thing I like about my block schedule is the way my classes are divided. To me it feels balanced since I don’t have my Math and English class on the same days.” It indeed looks like those classes are divided well! 90 minute classes are also not something that was in the old schedule. It gives students more time to complete class activities, and teachers are able to cover
more content.

All in all, like everything else, this block schedule will have its pros and cons. As time continues doing its job, we’ll have more factors to consider—and who knows, perhaps they will also change our current impression of the block schedule. I wish you good luck with all of your classes!