Nishant Thangada ‘19, Jonathan Huang ‘19: The implementation of a new schedule has brought a major change to students’ school days both in and out of the classroom, generating mixed opinions about key issues like homework and class time. This new schedule features an eight day rotating block schedule with only five classes meeting everyday. Students are presented with both longer classes and longer free periods.
Cheryl Mclauchlan, V Form Dean and math teacher, shares her thoughts regarding the homework load in the new schedule, explaining, “I see an increased amount of people doing work during the day. The kids are incredibly productive from a dean’s perspective.” From a math teacher’s perspective, her class has received near perfection in homework completion. However, Mclaughlin states that she “likes meeting 12 out of 12 days to get to build relations with her students.” She has no qualms from an academic standpoint, but from a social aspect, she believes it can get increasingly difficult to interact with her students.
Praneeth Alla ‘19 comments, “The new schedule has given me more opportunities to do my homework, both during the day and at home, since every class doesn’t meet everyday. It feels much better than last year, when some days I had homework due for every class the next day.”
Adam Kovacs ‘18 also agrees that the new schedule is beneficial for time management. Kovacs asserts, “With the new schedule, some days I have a lot of homework, but other days I don’t. But since every class doesn’t meet everyday, it’s fine.”
Matt Memmo, Upper School Technology Coordinator and AP Computer Science teacher, sees two striking results with the homework load in the new schedule. He explains, “Students who have the mandatory study halls are making use of their time and the upperclassmen who are more responsible have also been productive with their free time.” Memmo also enjoys the new schedule because of the longer classes, as he continues, “A lot of times with the old schedule, the bell would ring and I would still be in the middle of the lesson. Now that the classes are longer, I can finish my lessons and have more time in class to accommodate for students who need help. Work that was previously assigned as homework can now be done in class.”
However, opinions on homework and class meeting time vary between departments. For instance, George Lorenson, Head of the Science Department, worries that with the new schedule “science classes lose a significant amount of time. The [previous] 12 day cycle with class everyday allowed for more labs compared to the five out of the eight day schedule this year.” He explains that there are restrictions to the homework limit, which further compounds the issue of lost time. Ultimately, Lorenson believes that it is too early to decide if the homework load in the new schedule is effective.
Andrew Shimrock, Head of the World Languages Department, also sees a difference in the new schedule. Similar to other teachers, Shimrock states that he “enjoyed the benefit of seeing [his] students every day for reinforcement.” He continues, “I don’t think that students will see more homework, but the order and organization of my chapters had to change, which changed my homework schedule a bit. I see the effect of the schedule more in my lesson plans rather than the homework.”