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Bell Schedule - Causus Belli
By Riverboat in Flotsam and Jetsam
March 28, 2010

As everyone knows, construction crews have been busy for two years on two brand-new high schools. Not to be outdone, our administrators have also been busy with a little construction of their own. After all, what’s a new school without a new bell schedule? Or a new dress code? Or a new mission statement?

Sure enough, word got out of a proposed bell schedule, although I think proposed is not quite the right word to describe what appears to be fait accompli, or as we say in these parts, a done deal. This schedule would bring back the block schedule but with a new twist. The A/B schedule means classes will meet every other day.

Back when high school ran six classes a day, administration claimed that the block schedule was necessary in order for students to earn more credits. After several years, the district chose to revert to a traditional schedule, albeit with seven instead of six classes a day. Somewhere in the middle was a muddle called a hybrid schedule which included four year-long and two block-schedule classes. (And if you ask me, it’s a shame the perpetrator of this evil deed was never duly hanged.)

My view is that the A/B block schedule is unnecessarily confusing, and a step backward. The only good reason for adopting this schedule is that it allows a student to earn an extra credit. But this sacrifices common sense and simplicity. A traditional schedule is easy to follow. Students know what to expect the next day. Plus, there is one less class to prepare for. The block schedule will benefit some students who want extra credits, but it will not benefit a great majority of students. Teachers will not cover more material, and the material that IS covered will not stick when students are overloaded. As it is, administration is already concerned that students are falling behind and are not adding value.

We may as well admit that there are limitations to the attention span of the average teenager, and a 90-minute class is stretching that limitation beyond the breaking point. If we really want to address the achievers, we should encourage them to take summer school, zero-hour classes and utilize some on-line classes. We already utilize technology for the underachievers using computers to make up credits. Why don’t we reward the ones who demonstrate more academic promise by offering more credits with our technology?

Changes in bell schedule have to be approved by the school board, but as of March 22, nothing had been brought to their attention, let alone discussed. On March 23, I received a message from one of the members stating that the superintendent. I guess this counts as official notice, debate and decision as far as this school board is concerned.

It appears to me the school board got painted in a corner by others in administration without the courtesy of its input, let alone the input of teachers. If any teacher had pulled this stunt, he’d be called on the carpet for insubordination. My comments probably won't change a thing, but I thought they should know a lot of us are opposed to this top-down decision-making that I thought we were trying to get away from.