90-minute classes? Can you handle it?

Last week Turner administrators and staff voted to have block scheduling next year. This year has finally felt normal with no masks, normal class periods and no social distancing. Although we have some normalcy again, we will experience a different type of learning next year.

What is a block schedule?

A block schedule is a where we would have four 90-minute class periods every day with alternating four each day. For THS on Mondays, we would have our normal 50-minute, 7 classes. For the rest of the week there will be fewer class periods a day, but they would be longer periods and on a rotation. Doing this can give students an idea of college and how those schedules work. 90-minutes is a significant amount of time, so students and teachers can get a lot done. Only having 4 periods can allow students and teachers to prepare for those classes and make time for homework/classwork.

What does this mean for Turner Students?

This would mean students would come to school on Monday and go through a normal day with all their classes and then the rest of the week would be block days. For example, on Tuesdays we may have odd classes and then Wednesday even classes. We would still have Advocacy every other day.

How do THS students feel about this new plan?

A few students were asked “How do you feel about us having a block schedule next school year?” Chloe Xoing and Maria Gamino both stated they have “mixed emotions” about the new routine. “A lot of people aren’t really happy about it and quite a few are.” Gamino stated. Xiong explained “I just like my normal routine this year. My classes feel like a good length. I don’t like change.”

Mr. Miles, a new English and Avid teacher this year also explained how he feels about the block schedules. “I feel block schedules can be very useful to students. I feel that if we go to block schedule, we can look at other school models so we can understand how to effectively implement block schedules. That way it will benefit all parties, students and teachers to have plan periods every single day for teachers, and for students to be more successful in the classroom.” Miles said.

Change can be scary, but it can be very beneficial. Sometimes, it is good to switch things up and can cause students to learn in new ways. Are you happy we are changing it up next year?