Your letters and advice were also split (60/40) between
the 2 types. The majority pointed towards the type 2. Those in favor of the
type 1 thought the extra day between class meetings was an advantage since
students could work on homework and get extra help before the next class
meeting. Those in favor of the type 2 thought it was beneficial for more
students with shorter attention spans and liked the idea of classes meeting 4
days a week instead of 3. We have sent a summary on to the BERC Group advising
them to consider the two modified block schedules and to solicit teacher input
as the deciding factor.
Mike Todd: Guest Author: "JHS 4x4
Schedule"
Mike Todd responded to our request for parent input to
the BERC Group. He agreed to let us share his
response:
"I am strongly opposed to the 4 x 4 currently in
place. Socially, our future JHS student would prefer to stay at his
neighborhood school, but we would strongly consider seeking a variance to attend
Cascade or attend a private school to avoid the disadvantages of the 4 x
4. The big problems with the 4 x 4 for us are
the disproportionate amount of time spent on courses like Band (which take
away time from other subjects that are an important part of a college prep
curriculum), and the lack of continuity for courses like Math that really should
be done continuously to avoid gaps/review.
"We have also heard that in many of the 4 x 4 classes,
the "instructional" part of the class lasts for only part of the official
period, after which students then work on their homework. Class "clock
time" and "instructional time" are not equal when teachers turn class
time into homework time - and the class then does not get through as much
material as a traditional schedule would.
The traditional 6 has very few disadvantages other than
the short periods for science labs. Going to one of the Mod blocks gives
an occasional longer period to have those longer lab days, but doesn't force
every class into the extraordinarily long periods that are not necessarily
efficient or advisable for all topics. (For instance, Math is often taught
with certain chunks of information followed by homework/practice in applying
that information. Periods that are twice as long don't mean you can do two
chunks in a day, as the second topic may require mastery or at least
experiential exposure to the first topic before it makes sense to introduce
it. I can imagine that class time then turns into homework time just to
get the sequence right, so "instructional time" is not necessarily what is
indicated on the clock, as part of the class time is spent on individual
homework instead.)
We think it is very important that students at High
School have the opportunity to seek breadth and diversity in their course
choices - this is a good time to be trying out a variety of subjects and getting
a broad education, not to be focusing in on a few. In theory, the 4 x 4
schedule gives students exposure to 8 subjects in a year (four each semester),
which would be great. In practice, however, subjects that require
continuity throughout the year (like band, or foreign languages, or math)
end up limiting the number and variety of courses that students can take
- and overbalance the time spend on these subjects relative to the other courses
only taken for one semester (e.g., a student in a year long commitment (like
band) ends up spending twice the class time on that subject as they do on a one
semester academic class (like science) - not the ratio one would choose in
designing a rigorous college prep curriculum). To take up 25% of the days
with band or choir (or PE or ....) leaves too little other time for traditional
academic requirements.
From the information presented in the comparison chart
on various schedule configurations, the Mod Block 6 Type 2 makes the most sense
- six subjects being covered, with occasional longer days for every class to
work on extended projects. We would be pleased to see JHS move to this (or
another 6 subject) schedule as soon as possible."
Author Mike Todd