In a typical finals week schedule, Park students would face two days worth of block period scheduling on Wednesdays and Thursdays to give students more chances to ask questions and get help before their final grades are in the books. This year, due to the physical altercations that took place at the high school on Jan. 18, administration felt that it would be best to take on finals week in full block fashion.
Biology teacher Katherine Quattrini said block schedules have their pros and cons from a teaching point.
“Teaching block class periods are nice sometimes because there’s less transitions. You can get through a lot more things. You can get more in depth,” Quattrini said. “The cons, it’s not always easy to plan an hour and a half long lesson, and kids don’t always stay engaged for that long.”
Junior Theo Holmberg said block schedules are helpful before finals week because they allow for more flexibility in getting help from teachers.
“I think it’s definitely more helpful because oftentimes in a regular class, there won’t be time to ask questions to the teacher outside the lesson,” Holmberg said. “There’s (also) a lot more free time.”
Junior Andrew Steinberg said the block schedule changes the way students approach classes and has a different effect on learning.
“It changes the learning a lot because you’re not just doing one thing in each class period, but usually multiple things and you have to stay focused for a full time period,” Steinberg said.
According to Quattrini, finals week requires planning to keep students engaged for as long as possible.
“I don’t think that anyone should have to sit down for an hour,” Quattrini said. “Giving breaks and making sure students are doing things that aren’t just sitting in desks are big.”
According to Holmberg, block scheduling has its benefits as well as its drawbacks.
“I like the block classes in some ways because it gives me more time to actually do the work (so) I won’t have as much homework,” Holmberg said. “But I don’t like them because it’s harder to focus for a long time.”
Steinberg said block periods are less beneficial for students during finals week.
“It’s definitely less helpful because if you’re only seeing a teacher every other day, you can’t really get help,” Steinberg said.
The last day of the semester is on Thursday Jan. 25, which is when block scheduling will end until finals week of semester two.
