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Of course it doesn't matter!! The quality of the class weighs more than the length of the class, and what weighs the most is the students in the class.

Again, we're looking for reasons that some students don't succeed. It's not the course, it's not the teachers, it's not the building, it's not the paint on the walls, it's not the color of the vehicles driving by the building, it's not the toilets, it's not the tennis courts (or lack of), it's not the trailers, it's none of that....

It's the students desire to suceed. Some have it, some have a little and can be pushed to gain more, and some have none and never will.

This week it's schedules, next week it's a new Academy, the next week it's the cafeteria menu; we're always looking for a reason so that we won't have to admit that some kids just don't care.

Before we had block scheduling, Guilford County ranked in the 25th thru 30th best system in NC. Now it ranks between 45th and 50th. Having 5 teaching sessions a week instead of 2 or 3 is so obviously better that I don't understand why people are fighting it. It seems that they are in denial and they are not interested in facts. I have no doubt that good teachers can cope with the Block Schedule. However we have a lot of rookie and inexperienced teachers that cannot effecitvely teach for 90 minutes. People are moving away from the Block system. Guilford County is locked in a sense of denial. I supported the Block system, it was one of the worst mistakes I have ever made. Wake up, let it die.

27265,

You forgot this week it's "Standard Mode of Dress".
If they dress alike their grades will improve.

For 93 years Dot Kearns has been convincing the people of High Point and Guilford County that poor black kids can't learn without "tricks".

Her expectations for this group of citizens are in the toilet, her loyal followers' (Marti Sykes, Walter Childs and others) expectations for this group are in the toilet and saddest of all, the black community's expectations for themselves are in the toilet.

Exactly!

This is why only the high minority, low performing schools are the ones that feel the need for the "Standardized Mode of Dress"? They say the parents voted for it, but if the parents acted like parents they would dress their kids appropriately
and let the school spend their time educating the students.

Clothes closets should be book closets.

Don't come to my door asking for a donatiion of "approriately colored" and "style" SMOD wear!!

If the child has a decent brown sweater to wear to school instead of the Dudley solid blue sweater, he should be allowed to wear it. If I donate a neat
clean new lime green sweater to a child that does not have a sweater, he should be allowed to wear it.

We are about 10 years behind the times. If anything has been proven in the last 10 years, it
is that school uniforms does nothing for students test scores and performance. They may all look equal on the outside, but 10 years after President Clintons Mandatory School Uniform Act.............
Johnny still can't read!

When a school requires that a certain style and color of clothing be worn to school this is the definition of a school uniform.

The Mandatory School Uniform Act by President Clinton in 1996 requires that these uniforms be provided for any student that cannot afford the uniform. My guess is that well over 55% of the students at Dudley are free and reduced lunch. If they qualify for free and reduced lunch, by federal
law they should be receiving free/or reduced uniforms!!!
Did anyone tell the parents at Dudley this!!
Deena???? Where are you??????

Now, now Education Please,

You should know that it depends upon what the definition of "school uniform" is. If a school mandates certain colored polo shirts, pants, etc., it's not a uniform.

GCS is a master of weasel wording.

Teacher Perspective on Traditional Schedule

Traditional Schedule (six periods, about a hour long)

Positves
*Have the same group of students and parents for the whole year
*More hours of instructional time compared to block
*Shorter class period means less discipline problems due to short attention spans
Negatives
*Have the same group of students and parents for the whole year
*Less planning time--60 minutes compared to 90 min. (though technially teachers rarely get any planning time at all)
*More grading,copying, record keeping, etc. to handle--most teachers average 90 students each semester on block; however, teachers could have 150 or more students at a time on traditional (30 being the classroom average)
*Getting enough textbooks, novels, and other supplies for evey student
*More homework and tests for students (since they are taking all of their classes at once instead of taking four classe at once)

I personally enjoy teaching on the block schedule. I find it easier for my style of teaching (hands-on activities, group work, etc.) to teach in a 90 minute time period. However, I am also teaching hour long classes this year for my Freshmen Academy kids and they seem to respond well to the shorter time period (it also helps that I have no more than 18 students in a class). As someone stated earlier though, the quality of what is taking place during instructional time is far more important than what schedule you are using.

About School Uniforms...

I do not believe that school uniforms directly affect academics; however, they would make my life a lot easier! It is much easier to focus on academics when you are not surrounded by butt and chest cleavage. If students were dressed appropriately for school, we would not have to have so many rules regarding clothing (which are enforced to varying degrees depending on the school principal). I'm well aware that the whole "standard mode of dress" is just another trend for GCS to try. While the reasoning is faulty, I think school uniforms in all schools would be a wonderful thing (think of the money parents would save shopping). This would also make it easier to identify an intruder on campus.

The FRL students can't afford uniforms? How did they afford the clothes they were wearing? It's funny how many students that have expensive jackets, Ipods, cell phones, etc. tell me that they don't have binders, pencils, or other supplies because they can't afford it.

As for the '96 law on uniforms, GCS gets out of providing free/reduced uniforms because they have a "standard mode of dress" and not uniforms. Despite my rant above, I would have no problem helping out a student/s that truly needed it, but the uniform should be something that parents could easily find at Wal-mart and afford to begin with.

I encourage you all to read the audits perfomed last year for Smith, Central, and Dudley.

It's clear that block scheduling is to the detriment of the students.

Numbers,

It's NOT the scheduling, it's the students. There are other schools that have block scheduling and the students are top rate.

It's the students. Let's look at kids in Kenya who take classes in mud adobes and sit on the floor, I'm not sure what schedule they are on but I'll tell you that they are all very grateful to be in school and take it seriously and do very well.

I can't emphasize it enough, it's the desire of the student.

Numbersgame,

What about the students that are on the block
schedule and are successful? Looking at three
schools and stating that this is the cause of the detriment to the students education is not a good statistical sampling. The block schedule should actually be easier because they are in the class with the teacher longer and only have four vs. seven courses to concentrate on. If they schedule like most schools, only two of these would be core courses at a time.

You might as well say these schools have windows
and the students are distracted by looking outside!

Parent,

My child is at SEHS w/ the block schedule-freshman academy. NO SCHOOLS are alike..7 classes 1 day, 4 the next 7 again, 4 different....SE students only have 1 elective per semester...the schedule does not permit students to concentrate on subjects as much as one would think. I'm sure it does have alot to do with the way the block schedule is ran per school. I have heard (ie..I'm not sure it's true) that one of the main reasons for switching to block schedules was for planning periods to be 90 min. vs. 60 min.?) someone out there educate me if I'm wrong!

learning curve,

How many classes are taken a semester? 7??
If there only one elective, what courses
are the required courses?

Our student's schedule could look like this from Aug - Dec everyday:

8:50 - 10:20 Freshman Seminar
Tutorial 30 min
10:45 - 12:10 Honors English 1
12:15 - 2:10 Spanish 1 (elective)
2:15 - 3:45 Honors Geometry

As you can see, there is only one demanding course
this semester and one elective. Next semester
there will be two more required courses and two
elective courses. This is the version of the block schedule that I am familiar with. Only four courses concentrated on in a semester at a time.
Harder courses such as AP Calculus would be year
long and divided into a A and B course.

I did not realize that our schools operate so differently. It seems like it would make it very
difficult for students transferring from one school to another.

My child's school is on the block schedule but it seems to be different than the schedule Joe Stafford and learning curve describe.

We have 4 classes each semester, the same classes everyday. Isn't that the way all schools do it?

Sorry Parent, didn't see your response before I posted. Our block schedules seem to be similar.

SEHS freshman academy has an A Day B Day Schedule. They attend all 7 course on Monday. Those are: Technology-only 1 elective per semester, Writing(mandated course for freshman), Algebra I, Honors Earth Science, Honors English 9, World History and PE (mandated for freshman) The schedule operates as A day B day...Tuesday and Thursday he attends Writing, Honors Science, World History, on B day Wednesday and Friday he attends Algebra, Honors English & PE.

Hope that helps.

dear learning curve,
can you share your thoughts on this type of schedule. I have been reading about alot of different schedules and this seems to be a fair combination of the standard block/traditional. I see the benefits that the teachers have a year to work with students, students don't have a time difference between the end of one semester and the EOC's. Kids change and mature over a year and any material covered would have more exposure. More time in each class, cumulative than block. Only 1/2 of classes to worry about each day. How is it working out; pro's and con's both would be appreciated.

Northwest and Grimsley were the only schools to have a traditional schedule the last few years. They have the highest SAT scores and the highest overall scores of any school in the county.
My daughter is taking AP history in block this semester. She will finish studying it at the end of January.The exam is at the end of the year.
A child at NW will take it for the whole year and will have 180 hours of instruction vs 135. I think the NW child will have a much better chance at passing with a good grade than my daughter.
Does anyone disagree?

Aren't the SAT's at the end of the year too? If your child doesnt take any math in the second semester then it could get a little difficult!

Yes I disagree, Truth. The Early college at Guilford has the highest SAT and overall scores of any school in the county. They are on the block schedule.

AB, good for them. However, not all children are as bright as those that attend the Early College. They are the brightest of the brightest. I would think that NW and Grimsley are a better reference though. In total more than 3000 students. How many are we talking about at the Early college. 100/150?

AB, you sound like Dr, Grier. he thinks that everyone is fit for AP/IB.

If only.
I agree with Truth.

Debra,

I prefer the traditional schedule. Perhaps it's due to freshman year and the fact that this schedule was in attempt to make transition easier. (it's not) Skipping days between classes makes it harder for students and teachers to keep up w/ assignments, test dates, homework, grading papers, etc...Too much of the 90 min. block is used for collecting, organizing and "refreshing". Instruction time is basically the same as with the traditional schedule. It's really much more of a college schedule than anything. The only pro that I have is in fact the students see the same teacher's all year (except for 1 elective).

I certainly don't have all of the answers as to the best schedule. I wonder if Grimsley was allowed to keep the same schedule b/c of test scores, or did the parents just have a loud enough voice? I think the traditional schedule works best for the majority of kids.

Most research has shown that poorer performing children do better under "traditional" scheduling. It appears we have it backwards here in Guilford County again. Pointing out the exception at the early college that receives public funds for a private school may not be the best example for it's success. I personally like the idea of the block and Joe, I understand why you would have supported it. It sure sounds good on the surface and more like college. I learned from a college professor’s doctorial thesis, a college freshman has a 22 minute attention span, after that it had best be review. So I guess a 50 minute class may accomplish more real learning.

I had the option of taking Calculus either 50 minutes a day, five days a week or 3 times a week for 85 minutes. I did better 5 days a week, in this case I don’t think more was better. My first semester Calc was 50 min. I tried second semester at 85 and hated it, then went back to 50 min for 3rd semester and differential equations. I “sat” through Graduate stats 2 days a week ( not offered that semester as 3 day) and survived (barely). This subject was almost interesting, yet after an hour and a half, the Spanish inquisition looked appealing. I found my law courses were better in longer blocks.

One point mentioned above was transferring within the system. All I can say is I would not want that to happen to my kids. Ouch! Transfer from traditional to block 1/4th or 3/4th’s the way through and you end up hamburger.

I have to believe that kid’s transferring from other school districts are at a serious disadvantage moving into the block system, but I might be wrong. On the other front, why are we not more standardized? It can’t be easier to manage this confluence.

It's also worth pointing out that Grimsley and NW had the highest SAT scores before everyone else went to the block. So it's not like they adopted a traditional schedule and their scores went up - they've always been at the top. I bet if they went to block, they still would be the highest-scoring schools. Those schools have 1. great teachers; 2. large numbers of high-achieving students; and 3. active, involved parents. They'll do well no matter what the schedule.

I don't know that scheduling really matters much in the grand scheme of things. Plenty of other factors - teachers, home life, school safety, etc. - seem to me to be far more important.

As I understand it, GCS leaves the decision on block vs. traditional up to each school. That's as it should be, I think. There's still room for some site-based decision-making - no need to standardize everything.

no big deal,

Only in theory does GCS leave the decision of scheduling up to the school. Last year Central High School quasi-announced to its population that it would move to tradtional scheduling this year. Western and Page and maybe others did the same.

Grier said, wait a minute - only 2 at a time.

Central is still block and the audit still says that traditional is best for them.

Truth,

Regarding your daughter taking AP World History and ending this semester. Yes I disagree (if your daughter is at SWH). First of all if she has Mr. Wesney he is an excellent teacher. But equally important, in April, extensive tutoring for all the AP courses is offered, in the morning and/or afternoons. The review tutoring sessions are well coordinated so if a student took 3 AP courses they could to go all the review sessions (and even fit sports and other activities in their schedules too).

There are also AP course review books that the students are encouraged (or required) to buy at the local book stores. They can read these any time for review and highlight as needed.

I really think it depends on the quality of the teacher who is teaching the course and the individual student's ability to absorb the information.

I agree with "No Big Deal". There are many other factors going on at NWH and Grimsley. I believe if they were on Block they would do just as well.

We won't even get into their excellent athletic facilities (another discussion for another day - not including lack of parking at NWH). Just drive around Guilford County schools. All schools are not "equal" no matter how much busing and swapping is done. It is numerous factors, politics, funding, demographics, parental involvement......

I am still counting the trailers left on the front lawn of Florence but am definitely enjoying a nice, new brick building to sub in. Too bad it took so long that many of these children never saw a regular classroom in Guilford County until middle school.

BA,
the reviewing time just makes up for the difference of teaching hours (block 180 hours vs Trad 135 hours). I would rather my daughter take AP all year long and not have to stay after school. They spend too much time at school as it is.

Another thing about Block vs Trad is the number of courses taken.
8 per year block = 32.
6 per year Traditional = 24

This might sound good to some but my daughter and I found it quite to actually choose 32. By the fourth year its difficult to fill in the blanks.

I still maintain that someone taking AP in a traditional schedule will have a increased chance of getting a good result.

That just my humble opinion.

One other indicator is that Western and Page have just changed back to a traditional schedule.
There must be good data out there or else Alan Duncan would not have let it happen.

Truth,

Most of the students take the review tutoring whether they had the course the first semester or last semester. Many teachers also offer a few extra points for taking the tutoring. It helps to prepare before the test. Also the students have their AP exam books to study from all year round.

However, I do agree that for some students taking a class all year long would be better for retention.

Both block and traditonal have their advantages and disadvantages. With block it is much easier for the homework - less books to worry about, less projects to do per subject. It is easier on a teacher's daily load of work, both in lesson prep and work they take home.

One disadvantage of block is for subjects like math and a foreign language that continue forward, there is too long of a break in between continued learning. More time has to be spend on review at the beginning of the course. For subjects like History and Psychology and Statistics this is not a problem.

One advantage of block is the class time mimics time spend in a college course so this also helps prepares an AP student for college in that way.

Thanks for mentioning about Traditional schedule and 6 classes. We never had that schedule so I wasn't sure how it worked. I do agree as you advance to the higher grades, scheduling is a problem especially because some of the science and math courses are two semesters. I would like to see more AP classes offered.