4 x 4 Block Really Wears Out My Daughter

<p>I will say that for classes with labs, 4 x 4 block is wonderful! The extra time surely eases clean-up, write-up, etc. all in one class period. My biggest complaint is that not all classes work well on block, especially those that need continuity from one semester to the next. And, of course, the “wearing out” factor of ninety minutes being too long to stay in the same classroom at a time without breaks, movement, etc.</p>

<p>Our school is also on the 4X4 block. I was against it but it has worked for both my kids. LD and GATE. My LD and ADD son likes having fewer classes to keep track of. He also gets through homework quicker since he doesn’t get distracted switching between 6 subjects. He also was able to double up in math jr year and will do the same senior year. He will end up having completed 6 yrs of math in 4 years. Also if it is a subject he struggles in it is over quickly.
Our day runs like DMD’s 2 periods then lunch and 2 after.
Though I agree it does show up in test scores.
Like so many things there are both pro’s and con’s. What works for some doesn’t work as well as for others. It also depends on your student body. In our district you can opt to attend a traditional school. Of the three schools the Sat and standardized tests scores of the 4X4 block are in between the two other schools.</p>

<p>Wow, I had never heard of 4x4 block scheduling until now, but I think that’s awful for any student. It is hard to retain lots of information over the summer, even when aking a math or language course for a full year. the problem mustbe even worse for kids that have that long break. Hopefully colleges are familiar with this system and can tell the weaknesses.</p>

<p>My school does do block scheduling with 4 90 minute classes per day (a total of 7 classes and a period for clubs…my school is a little different), but the classes last the whole year and we have “odd” days and “even” days, so the classes alternate. I think this system is better because it has all of the benefits for the teachers~extended lessons, a planning period, etc, while also being relatively low-stress for students (I would much prefer having 2 days for homework instead of one and I think having four long classes is much less draining than 7 or 8 short ones per day). </p>

<p>Anyway, the situation at the OP’s school where kids have to sit through 270 minutes of classes before lunch and where they only have 5 minutes between classes is horrible. You should complain to the school board or something. Would 15 or 20 extra minutes in the day be so bad if that meant kids got some sort of break?</p>

<p>I try to avoid 75-minute blocks in law school. I had a few long blocks (like 2 hours) in college, but I think that’s a different issue from 14-year-olds. Teachers need training in handling kids over that time period. They can either teach two new sessions (and most of the information hasn’t been absorbed from lesson #1) or do a session and homework. Properly done, a 90 minute block demands that the kids have done prep work for the class in addition to homework from the previous day’s lessons.</p>

<p>It is the same situation at my school. Each person will for one semester sit for 190 (90 X 2 + 10)minutes to lunch, then in the other semester, for 280 minutes before lunch. Every person goes through this. This often also creates many schedule conflicts and in general limits the amount of learning. There are 4 classes each day for a semester, and then repeated. I’d say there is more stress involved. We started school 6 days ago and I have:</p>

<p>3 Quizzes
3 Tests
1 Lab Report
1 Book Report
Not too bad, but relatively more.</p>

<p>My daughter has a quiz or a test in at least three out of her four subjects every single day. That does not even include the written work. I’m glad we have no plans for the Labor Day weekend, because she has no spare time to spend with us. She does have a babysitting job for all day Saturday, but other than church on Sunday, she will mostly be working on homework! The quizzes and tests come so often because they have to “fly” through the material…</p>

<p>Our whole district is 4 x 4 block. I have posted on this subject many times in the past. With 5 kiddos with a very different range of abilities there were no positives. Have 3 GATE kiddos, 1 honors student and 1 LD.</p>

<p>AP classes offered in the fall are not seen again til test in May. AP classes starting in Feb are again tested in May…3 months for studying AP Calc, AP Physics, AP Chem…needless to say very, very few took the exams and even less PASSED. Fewer absences can be allowed for college visits, athletic events, or illness. Not to mention trying to make-up the missed work.</p>

<p>Same complaints as above, lack of continous classes for math and foreign language. After 3 years of this, not one of my kiddos’ teachers has been able to complete the curriculm that they had on a traditional schedule. And near the end of the day, the last class period is a zoo! And yes we have the 5 minute’s passing as well.</p>

<p>Son’s science, math and foreign language teacher’s detest the schedule as much as I do.</p>

<p>I am counting the days until my youngest graduates (he is currently a junior). If we had not just moved to this side of the country, it is enough to make me move!</p>

<p>Kat</p>

<p>I’ve read about the block schedule scam, and it really promises something for nothing - more courses in the same school day and school year. Unfortunately, that means either a greater overall workload for the students, dumbing down the curriculum, or some combination of the two. When the school system tries to cram in 8 academic classes per year instead of the previous 6, SOMETHING has to give.</p>

<p>Yes, usually class goes very fast. We have both semesters for AP classes(some of them) though making maximum amount of hard APs to be 4.
It was a little bit difficult to seat on one place for 90 minutes but you’ll get accustomed soon.
However, I like 4x4 schedule because it allows me go faster in classes that I like. For example, I got Geometry and AlgII in 9th grade and am doing AB Calc in 10th grade. I also put Honors Biology/Chemistry into 9th grade.
If I’d have to choose 4x4 or regular 6-period school I’d certainly choose 4x4.</p>

<p>It seems like the drawbacks to the 4X4 block (not the traditional 3 1/2 classes per day block) seem to outweigh the positives for many. One school around here does it and I don’t know about their results, but I don’t think I’d like it. It’s easy to say you’ll study your math or foreign language on the off time, but let’s face it, you’ll have 90 minutes of 4 other classes during that time and you most likely will not keep those skills up. Also it could be hard to schedule SAT IIs, like the foreign language with listening is only given in November, but what if you had your foreign language in the fall/winter last year and will have it spring this year. Then taking the listening test wouldn’t be a good option unless you did even more prep. </p>

<p>I don’t mind the 3.5 blocks a day all year thing even though the classes are long, it’s convenient for science because you can finish stuff without having to clean up each day, and it’s good for working on projects, etc.</p>

<p>I think 4x4 block really separates out good teachers from the not so good ones. Teachers who facilitate intelligent class discussions benefit from the longer time. It requires the teacher to stay focused and on schedule to get through the semester though. My daughter had one particularly bad experience with a teacher who seemed to fall apart when it came time for the sport she coached to come in season. Her priorities were not in the classroom and the end of the semester was a ridiculous blur of curriculum mashed together to get it done. On the other hand, her English teacher took full advantage of the longer class time and really made the material come alive through class activities beyond lecturing. Math was problematic for the kids who just weren’t getting the concepts. The teacher had to keep moving and some kids failed or were close to failing, in an honors level class. I think the 4x4 block requires a lot of vigilance for all involved. Parents have to closely monitor progress and not wait on getting help if their kid starts to fall behind.</p>

<p>Our school just switched to 4x4 for this year. AP classes are still following the A day B day schedule for the whole year. It has made scheduling a nightmare. For instance students wishing to take AP classes must sign up for 2 or 4 so they can balance each other out on A day/B day for the entire year. S2 (an average student) really wanted to take just 1 AP but was forced to sign p for a second one to balance his schedule. </p>

<p>Previous to this year students took 8 classes that alternated all year (4 classes on A day, 4 different classes on B day). Every class was (and still is ) 90 minutes. They get 4 minutes between each class. School was built for 1600 and now has 2700 ( heard there are 900 freshmen this year!). They have 4 lunch periods (30 minutes) that occur either before ,during or after the 3rd class of the day.</p>

<p>Hi, MomOFour! I’m your old WFU friend with a new username on CC. It was just easier to change names after my old account expired than to try to figure out how to get back on with the old one.</p>

<p>I agree that some of the really good teachers do know how to teach effectively on block; the problem is that so many students just simply cannot handle the number of concepts that must be presented with little or no time for remediation allowed in the breakneck speed semester. I think I spent over three hours this week helping my daughter with AP Calculus at night, and she is ranked first in her class. It is just simply moving too fast…</p>

<p>For good organized teachers I see one big advatage for students…they only have to juggle 4 subjects instead of 7-8. For kids with poor organization skills, ADD, inability to sustain, etc. it appears to work better and they are much more likely to get homework done on a nighlty basis in 3-4 classes rather than in 6-7 classes (accounting for the fact that rarely HW is given in every subject, every night).</p>

<p>Oh, but homework is given in EVERY subject, EVERY night, and it usually amounts to much more than they would have to do for a year-long course schedule.</p>

<p>My two sons are on a block schedule, but different than what you are describing. They have 8 classes per year, 4 classes a day, but they alternate on A days and B days. The classes are 90 minutes long. My oldest went to a private with a traditional 7 periods a day, so I was somewhat leary of the block, but now have found it to work for us. It is especially helpful if you are involved in athletics or afterschool activities because you only have homework or tests for 3 classes daily. Athletics, Band, drama, etc. are double blocked so you have them both a and b days. The only kicker is that students have to stay organized and be prepared for A or B day classes. This takes some getting used to (but they are easy on freshmen who bring the wrong books the first 6 weeks.) </p>

<p>It is a high achieving school with high test scores. When the district tried to change it to a traditional 7 period day to bring it inline with other schools in the district, there was a huge community uproar and the district bowed to the wishes of parents and students and kept the block. It works for us!</p>

<p>I think your system does sound much better than the 4 x 4 block, ag54. Your kids have their courses year-round, whereas ours only take them for one semester each. I also like the fact that there is a day between when homework assignments are due with your system. Ours is always due the very next day and can keep a kid up until the wee hours finishing it at times.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I’ve read through this thread and been surprised to hear all the vehement objections to block scheduling. It clearly isn’t working for many, which is discouraging. Good teachers, and their students, can thrive with blocks. It might be instructive to look at the Waldorf education model, used in much of the world.</p>

<p>My two youngest kids started first grade with a block schedule and it was ideal for them – each had an excellent class teacher who wove active and quiet learning for the full 90-minute main lesson. For eight years of grade school this involved using their bodies as well as their emotions and intellects to master an integrated curriculum. In a Waldorf high school, the block system continues as the foundation for academics. All the kids graduate HS knowing two foreign languages, a musical instrument and some theory, broadbased world literature and philosophy/religion, hands-on physics and chemistry, and math through calculus. The 90-minute main lesson enables focus, as well as the practical benefit of minimizing setup/cleanup time for art and science labs. There was time for fun, humor, kindness, and deep appreciation for the arts. My kids loved their school and looked forward every day to going. Of course they were fortunate to have smart, creative, enthusiastic teachers.</p>

<p>All that said, Waldorf schools are not grade-driven or test-driven, with learning valued for its own sake. Many of the objections in this thread relate to lower PSAT/SAT scores, which of course is appropriate to the CC mission because those test scores are still relevant at most selective colleges. So … back to the topic of admissions reform. In an ideal educational world, we would go to school to play and to learn. Sigh.</p>

<p>Yes, it is also nice because you have two days to study for a big test or arrange to see a tutor. The way you describe does sound really screwy that you take math only in the fall and then don’t see a math book again until the next fall. I can see how that would hurt test scores.</p>

<p>“The way you describe does sound really screwy that you take math only in the fall and then don’t see a math book again until the next fall.”</p>

<p>That would be a middle-of-the-road scenario. In some cases you would take math in the fall, and would not take math again until a year later and in the following spring. So math, foreign language or a science in fall of sophomore year and then the next course in spring of the JUNIOR year. The scheduling does not necessarily put the courses fall to fall or spring to spring.</p>

<p>And again, if you have taken any AP classes in the fall you do not see that material until the test in the beginning of MAY. And classes resume for spring in Feb. and those AP tests are given for material that has been presented for 3 months ONLY.</p>

<p>It has been noted that the magnet schools in our district- math and science and the IB program are the only schools NOT on the 4 x 4 block but are on the traditional calender. Their AP scores were the only ones that did NOT drop. 15 schools on 4 x 4, 2 not.</p>

<p>Son last year spent much time helping all those in AP BC Calc, and AP Physics just trying to learn enough of the material to just pass with a 3. He had taken the classes as a sophomore/junior so he was able to give them all a hand. And yes they do graduate with extra classes, he needed 22 to gradate, completed 40. </p>

<p>The situation is even worse for my son with LD.</p>

<p>Kat</p>