The seven class change has many benefits to the students of CCHS.
BY JEREMY HAAS
Cooper City High School has built its reputation around the use of block scheduling, allowing students four classes each semester, totaling up to eight credits per year and thirty two credits by the end of high school. While this seemed to be a convenient enough idea, it was only a matter of time before the problems caught up with it. Under block scheduling, class sizes rose and as a result Broward County racked up millions of dollars in fines from the state. Next year, however, block scheduling will be taken out of CCHS and while some students are in an uproar about it, switching from block scheduling may not be such a bad thing.
According to 712educators.com, only 30% of American Public high schools use block scheduling. The other 70% are using some form of rotation scheduling, or a seven period school day. In any case, block scheduling only teaches a class for half of a school year. This is especially significant when it comes to EOC (end of course) exams. These tests are designed to check a student’s knowledge in each class they take at the end of each year. They are becoming more prominent and eventually will be standard for every class. However, with block scheduling, a student could take a class first semester and then get tested on its material at the end of the last semester. But with a class taught year round, a student’s mind is fresh with the material they will be tested on.
Not only is block scheduling detrimental to performance on EOC exams, but it also makes classes more difficult to focus on. 90 minute long classes put a strain on the attention spans of teenagers. For high-scholars, focusing on anything for 90 minutes is hard, and when it comes to schoolwork, it’s nearly impossible. Not only do students have trouble paying attention, but teachers also have trouble lecturing in 90 minute long class periods. With seven, 50 minute long classes every day, a student will have less trouble losing focus and be able to concentrate better on their school work.
Many high school subjects require more than just one semester to teach. With only a half a year to focus on each course, teachers find themselves rushing their students. This is especially true in the English department. To get students reading required books in the designated time granted by a block schedule, educators are often forced to give numerous chapters to read every night. This not only stresses kids out, but it also rushes a book along, making it harder to comprehend and enjoy for a reader. With a yearlong English class, books can be read at a normal, relaxed pace, allowing students to digest the material calmly.
It has been said that this change in schedule will cost our schools millions of dollars, however, there are no real facts to back it up. The Broward County school system was recently fined $66 million for their large class sizes. The debt was reduced to $8.5 million, but to avoid another multi-million dollar scare in the future, our school is playing it safe and changing our schedule to make our class sizes smaller to fit the requirements of our county.
While there is a lot of complaining going on around CCHS about next year’s schedule change, getting rid of block scheduling isn’t such a bad thing.
The seven class schedule takes opportunities away from students and puts excess stress on the teachers.
BY JESSICA WEAVER
Next year, Cooper City High School will be getting rid of block scheduling and acquiring a new 7 period schedule. Confirmation of this plan has caused the student body of CCHS much distress, but as teachers and administration began to ease our worries, students began to settle down. Although the promises of shorter classes and the ability to still duel enroll made the thought of change a little more bearable, students should still prepare for the worst.
Most students have already picked their 8 classes and have settled in with their schedule for next year. With this new change, students have had to go back to guidance to add or remove classes from their well thought out schedules. This disruption was not only an annoyance, but it was also unnecessary stress added to students right before the FCAT, EOC and AP tests. It is obvious the county did not have the students in mind when making this decision. If they did, they would have thought of how it would impact them. Even after all the schedules are figured out, students will face additional anxiety adjusting to the new class times and procedures. Students will not be the only ones having to adjust to the change however, as teachers will now also have to figure out how to deal with additional classes and students. There is no doubt that this change will be a hard adjustment at CCHS, with everyone learning to manage, teach, and balance out work for seven classes.
Staff will argue that “no one likes change at first” and that eventually after everyone gets accustomed to seven classes the students will no longer mind it. But there are obvious drawbacks to this change. A seven class schedule will require more books for students. Not only enough books for each student in class, but enough for individual home sets as well. Textbooks are costly, and acquiring thousands more is taking money away from other critical areas like updated technology. What’s more is the fact that schools and students now need an abundance of paper just to keep up. If CCHS thought we were short on supplies before, think about it now. With seven classes instead of four, students will need more paper, more dry erase markers, more staples, more tape, etc. Students will have to bring their own printouts and supplies all because of the new schedule change.
With fewer classes come less credit opportunities for students. With seven classes versus eight, students are limited in the classes they can take and are losing a credit. This situation alone will leave some students facing the problem of not having enough credits to graduate. The solution is duel enrolling or summer school, but this unexpected change is punishing students for assuming they’d be able to double up in a class next year. Also, now with seven classes, the amount of homework will be increased making it harder to take on any extra classes.
The change from four classes to a seven class schedule will be a hard change to get accustomed too. The stress and cost it will create is unnecessary and disadvantageous to the students. After a few years, CCHS most likely will settle in with seven classes but for upcoming seniors and juniors, they don’t have the luxury of having a few years to become accustomed and will most likely find the new schedule to be a detrimental change.
