The bell rings for the last class of the day, and it’s only the fourth one. Backpacks are lighter with smaller materials and students enter their classroom wide awake and ready to take on their last subject.
As of right now Middletown High School is on a four block schedule. With this students only have four classes per day and switch different class subjects halfway through the school year.
Since there are only four classes, students have more in-depth lessons each day and are able to retain more knowledge on one subject in a day.
There is more reinforcement on the subjects and the student has more time in class to understand or ask for help on an assignment.
Teachers also have more time to present their lesson and get points across more effectively to students which will help them remember and take in more.
With only four classes there is less homework and less stress over more subjects.
Instead, everything is broken down for the student to handle on a more productive basis.
Students are able to dedicate more time on each subject they are currently learning without feeling pulled in too many different directions.
Some speculate that because all the classes aren’t all year long, then students will forget the knowledge learned at the beginning of the year.
They think that during the year it would be better to be learning all the subjects at the same time and that way no one will forget everything in certain subjects.
That may be true, but there are very few cases in that favor.
The information retained in the first half of the year actually isn’t forgotten in the second half. Rather, student’s memories respond better when there is more concentration on one certain thing instead of several others.
If students were to have eight classes at once, there would be more stress on them and more homework and assignments due to their teachers.Students with only four classes have the luxury to do better and have more time on their hands for extracurricular activities than if they would’ve had eight.
A four-block schedule benefits students in more ways and leaves them with an easier schedule to handle.
