Aragon’s transition from a traditional schedule to a modified block schedule has received a mixture of complaints and praises from students and faculty. In addition to creating block days on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the new schedule has allotted time for teacher office hours during Wednesday lunch and pushed the Aragon start time forward by ten minutes (8 a.m. start). This schedule has also eliminated Wednesday late start in exchange for a 1:24 dismissal on Thursdays for teacher collaboration.
Some students, like junior Ria Patel, have embraced the transition. Says Patel, “I didn’t like modified block at first because of how long classes would be. I really didn’t like block during STAR testing last year, so I was worried. However, it hasn’t been that bad. I definitely want to keep it partial and not go for a full block. I will miss late start Wednesdays because those were always a nice chance to sleep in, but I still like the new schedule.”
Since the modified block transition, Wednesdays have become a more rigorous day for many, with a regular 8 a.m. start and four block-length classes. Says junior Travis Kwee, “I miss Wednesday’s late start, and having school pushed back to eight hasn’t made a difference for me at all. Now, with modified block, Wednesdays are a lot tougher for me because I have only core academic classes on that day. Block days have been especially hard for band and Chinese, because we run out of things to do.”
While students have found certain classes extremely difficult to endure with a 90 minute block length, many are pleased with its effect in the science department. Says junior Rebecca Jain, “We recently had a lab in AP Chemistry, and it was nice because we got more of the lab done than we would have been able to do otherwise.”
Freshman Daniel Ho has also appreciated the longer periods. Says Ho, “P.E. benefits from block days because I can actually get through a whole game, whereas before you only had about 20 minutes to play after changing and taking roll.
I also have more time to do my homework since I don’t see my teacher for an extra day.”
Senior Melissa Moy disagrees with the effectiveness of modified block. Says Moy, “I think that modified block does more harm than good. This compromise between old and new has caused a lot of confusion, so I think it would be better to either go to full block or move back to traditional. Block days really drag out classes, and for subjects like math, you don’t need that much time at once. School is already long enough for some people, and block days make it feel even longer.”
Sophomore Cleo Wienbar has also felt frustration over this midpoint compromise between traditional and full block. Says Wienbar, “If we are going to try to go to a block, we need to go for a full block, all or nothing.”
The addition of office hours has appealed to students. Says junior Jansen Yan, “I have not used office hours yet, but if I happen to miss a day of school, the office hours will be a good way to get caught up, as the extra 15 minutes can make a big difference.”
Students have also expressed frustration over Thursday’s earlier dismissal time. Says sophomore Nick Veizades, “I don’t like the way Thursday block works. Because they make us stay for lunch, we can’t have a regular minimum day. I would prefer having a minimum day every Thursday.”
Yan also would change the Thursday short day, saying, “In the future I would like the teacher collaboration to be on Fridays instead of Thursdays, so it extends the weekend by a bit.”
While Aragon students transition to a new learning schedule, teachers have had to make major modifications to curriculum plans. Says Spanish teacher Benjamin Ho, “I’m still adapting so that I can best teach with this new schedule. My goal is to develop activities specifically for longer block periods.”
Mathematics teacher Nate Kundin says, “I like [block schedule]. We do lose instruction time, so some topics don’t get covered as much, but there are other things that we can go into with more depth. Block days are calmer because we have fewer passing periods and see fewer students.”
Science teacher Asif Rahman says, “I’m familiar with block because I used to teach at a school that had block four days a week, but I’ve taught biotech for the past two years on a regular schedule, so it’s been an adjustment. Block has been great because I can convey entire lessons and then immediately offer support. Also, for times when we work in the computer lab, we don’t feel as rushed with the extra time.”
Principal Pat Kurtz concludes, “We aren’t hearing positive or negative things yet. There is no push for full block because the teachers were adamant that that was not where they wanted to go. We plan on revisiting the block discussion in January to see how the transition is going with teachers and students.”
