GILROY
– Changes to Gilroy High School’s block schedule are sparking
discussion among students, parents and teachers – one of whom will
even research the issue for his master’s thesis. Some say the
two-hour classes are too long, however, the added time is a plus
for teachers trying to squeeze in activi
ties such as lab and physical education.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Changes to Gilroy High School’s block schedule are sparking discussion among students, parents and teachers – one of whom will even research the issue for his master’s thesis. Some say the two-hour classes are too long, however, the added time is a plus for teachers trying to squeeze in activities such as lab and physical education.
“We looked for research from places that had done (long blocks) for many years,” Principal Bob Bravo said. “The best research we could find tended to say it didn’t matter … no schedule is the winner.”
Class blocks are a half-hour longer than last year. Students at GHS attend just three classes a day, each about two hours long. The classes meet on alternate days each week, so periods 1, 3 and 5 meet three times this week while periods 2, 4 and 6 meet twice.
Other changes this year include removing Monday’s traditional schedule that had seven classes of 50 minutes each and eliminating a half-hour long “tutorial” period from the other four weekdays. Tutorial was a designated study hall, in which students could get help from any one of their teachers, make up tests or work on their homework.
“I think it sucks, because it’s very stressful on everybody,” said Keith Porria, a junior. “The days are longer, and we see the teacher longer.
“Tutorial was helpful when I needed it, but classes were a lot better when they were an hour and 35 minutes because the day went by a lot faster.”
Both GHS administrators and teachers wanted to remove tutorial because they felt the time was not well-spent.
“Some teachers didn’t like it because, since the kids didn’t have something planned and organized, some kids abused it,” said Michelle Nelson, president of the Gilroy Teachers Association.
Administrators shared those concerns, Bravo said, and agreed to change the daily schedule.
The issue became part of contract negotiations because it involved teachers’ working conditions and hours. Teachers must spend more time planning lessons to fill the additional half-hour, which some say is tough to do. With the exception of Mondays, the school day is now 10 minutes longer.
After putting several schedules to a vote, this year’s schedule was the overwhelming favorite, Bravo said.
Longer classes could make it more difficult for students to stay on task, some say, particularly in a subject they find less than intriguing.
“My son’s been complaining about it from day one,” parent Lori Blankenship said. “He says, basically, everyone’s been losing their attention span.”
The classes are tiring, she said, and the effect can be seen on her sophomore son’s report card. His A’s and B’s have fallen by at least one grade, she said.
“His grades are taking the hit, and it has nothing to do with anything else,” Blankenship said. Her son has taken honors classes in both his years at GHS. “The tutorial period, that was wonderful, because he was able to get some help there with anything he was having problems with. Now, he’s just kind of floundering out there.”
Junior Manuel Cruz said he likes the new schedule because on Mondays last year, things were too hectic and it was difficult to concentrate.
“I think this (schedule is) better because you get more time out of the classes and you don’t have to run around,” Cruz said. “It’s more stable.”
Educators have yet to reach a general consensus on which schedule works best on both sides of the teacher’s desk. Some advantages to a block schedule, which many high schools began to employ in the mid-’90s, are: fewer classes for students and teachers to worry about each day; more time for a range of activities; more one-on-one time; and, a particular concern at locker-less GHS, fewer books to carry.
Traditionally, Bravo said, English, social studies, science and physical education teachers support block schedules. Longer classes allow time for in-depth discussions, lab work and changing in and out of PE uniforms.
The two departments that have been most wary of block scheduling are math and foreign languages.
“As a group, most of them tend to say they’d rather have more of the traditional schedule,” Bravo said.
Math teacher Colin Bross, who is conducting his master’s thesis research on the subject, agrees.
“I don’t like it. I just think it’s too long,” he said. “I feel myself actually more tired at the end of the day or the end of the week than I did last year.”
Bross, who is earning his master’s degree in education from National University, is most interested in how perception of the schedule affects student performance and feelings toward school in general.
“If kids don’t like the schedule, then they’re probably not going to like coming to school,” Bross said. “And they’re probably not going to like coming to math or English, what have you.”
This year, Bross sees students, especially freshmen coming from a traditional schedule, fidget and act up more in class. If someone is absent one day, it can be difficult for them to catch up.
However, at this point in his research, Bross agrees that he sees pros and cons to the longer classes.
“There’s a lot of advantages to block scheduling, there’s a lot of advantages to traditional scheduling,” Bross said. “So it’s almost a wash … It basically comes down to what’s going on in the class – what are teachers and students doing with their time?”
Bravo said he eagerly awaits Bross’ final results.
“We want to be driven by the research more than anything else,” he said.
While GHS does not plan to change the schedule for next year, it’s not closed to discussion.
“I think it’s too early to say,” Bravo said. “If we found research that showed us there was a better way, there’s no question that we would do that.”
