Does the New Schedule Work?
At the beginning of the school year, a dramatic change happened with Coe-Brown’s curriculum. The once six-classes-in-one-school-day-schedule changed into four. To everyone this was monumental. Never before had anyone from CBNA seen something like this. Although the schedule is new and different, was the change all that bad?
After surveys and brief interviews with students, teachers, and staff members, the majority of Coe-Brown believes that the new schedule is for the better. Specifically, the point that was most mentioned with the new schedule was time. “There is more time to do everything now” one student said. Every class has an extended length of time, which was basically the length of a double period last year. With the longer periods, more learning can get done at a more relaxed pace. Teachers can take the time to go over homework and review, without the forty-five-minute pressure from last year. Another benefit for teachers with the new schedule is more quality time to teach their students.
Teachers aren’t the only ones who feel the relief of the four-period schedule. Since classes rotate to almost every other day, students have more time to get their assignments completed. Another point that was made by a student was, “I no longer feel like I have to sprint, just to make it to my class on time”. Students can now walk, almost at leisure, to their next class while also being able to take a bathroom break and prepare for their upcoming lesson.
Granted some people might have had a problem with adjusting to the new schedule and still might not like a different style of learning. Certain subjects such as math, history, and electives might have had more difficulty adjusting since the classes are lecture-based. Mr. Usigner reported that “ there has been no falter or change to the course, and that the curriculum was still on schedule”. Another problem some students seemed to have was the increased amount of time in class made the day feel longer. On the contrary, one student mentioned that “since the day consisted of only four classes, the school day seems shorter”. Although the classes are longer, there is a smaller amount of classes, this was the trade-off.
Overall, the pros outweigh the cons of the new schedule. The pros of the new schedule include more time for all aspects of the school, a better quality of teaching for teachers and learning for the student, less pressure, and more time to get work done. The only possible cons are possible courses behind schedule, which hasn’t really been happening, and students feeling like the class is longer. This new schedule has been very beneficial to Coe-Brown Northwood Academy. Who knows, maybe we might stick with the new schedule?
– Samuel Marcotte
