Three years ago, BSM added a new block day schedule into each week. Block days occur on every Wednesday and Thursday of the week. During these days, students have to attend four classes a day for roughly about 65 minutes to 80 minutes depending on the week’s schedule. That may seem like a long class period compared to the regular forty minute class periods, but it’s worth it in the end.

The addition of block days every week was a great idea, and I’m glad it was put into action because students get more time to work on their assignments and more time to learn new material. Having these incorporated into the schedule gives teachers and students more time to fluctuate their schedules.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday night before the block days, you only have four classes of homework to get completed. On Tuesday nights students have to complete their 1st hour, 3rd hour, 5th hour and 7th hour done for the following day. When Wednesday comes, students have to complete their 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th hour done for Thursday. This is better because students would’ve had to get all eight done every night before the block day schedule was added into the new schedules.

Juniors have to attend the ACT prep class for the first semester of the year while the other grades get a lengthened free hour. This ACT prep class gives juniors an opportunity to learn the criteria and see what kinds of questions will be asked during the test. Students get to see their progress and where they are at with their score on the test.

During a block day class, some teachers are more lenient than usual. Some teachers will give class time to get your homework done or to complete in-class activities. Of course, you still need to use your class time wisely to complete the work that is given to you. Another great part about the block day schedules is that students get a longer time to enjoy their lunch. With the addition of the block day schedule, students get an extra ten minutes added to the lunchtime which are usually 20 minutes long on a normal schedule day.

Longer classes can bring the learning experience to a whole different level. With more time to the teacher’s advantage, there is so much opportunity to incorporate many interactive lessons to engage the students to learn more about the subject. This can give the students the potential to expand their focus in the classroom and learn more in one class.

Forty minute classes don’t provide enough time given to students to complete their work. Some teachers struggle with completing their tasks as well. There have been plenty of classes that I have been in where teachers keep their students after the bell either because they can’t finish the lesson, or because it takes a while to get the students to settle down. If there does end up being a test or quiz on a regular day, teachers may not give their students the whole class period to work on the assessment. But when a block day comes, students ultimately have way more time to complete a test that was handed out which results in less stress and time to work out the problems. Block days give students and teachers time to sit back for once during a school day. These classes not only give more time but leave less stress among everybody. These classes are way longer than forty minutes and give everybody a chance to get organized and to plan their week out as well.

In the end, the addition of these black days being an every week event was a great way of adding flexibility and removing stress from students. Instead of usually having eight classes of homework every night, we finally have some opportunity to not just focus on homework every night. Because of the block day schedule, every Tuesday and Wednesday night gives students extra time to do their homework and to finally rest a couple times a week.