The new schedule hasn’t been implemented for long, but the pros don’t outweigh the cons. 

The eight-period schedule that’s been applied this year has been an unexpected adjustment for everyone. To put it simply, the old schedule was more beneficial than the current one. 

While we do get to see all our teachers every day, it’s only for a brief period of time, often feeling like the class is over the second we walk in. 

The classes may be shorter, yet the day is still exhausting as we’re going to eight classes a day instead of the five or six we’re used to. 

Many who prefer the new schedule argue that the previous one caused issues when a student was absent, potentially missing half a week’s worth of work. However, a student being absent will still miss out on a significant amount of work regardless, as teachers will always be teaching as much as possible. Absences are an issue for every schedule, and aren’t magically solved no matter which one we use. 

The two-hour classes may have been long, but they were more effective. 

The longer classes allowed teachers to be able to cover a week’s content in two days, whereas the eight-period schedule will force them to stretch out their lesson plans over the week with much less time per day.

For lab-based classes, the short time period leaves instructors rushing to set up labs, and have to resume the next day when they inevitably won’t finish, causing progress to be lost. 

There are also many classes that are project-based, and similar problems arise. By the time a group gets their idea and organizes a plan, the bell rings, forcing them to disband their team and leave their project for the next day. 

It’s better to have too much time rather than not enough. 

The new schedule also causes problems with scheduling in general. Some classes have less availability, and some teachers are teaching classes they haven’t taught before.

“One-period only” classes compete with each other, forcing students to choose between two helpful options, which they could want and need.

The new schedule isn’t perfect, and the old schedule may be better, but there still are more options for an effective schedule that would combat our current one, such as a true “A/B” block schedule. This is a viable option to consider in the future.

For teachers and students alike, the new schedule has caused new problems. The changes may have been good in theory, but it’s become a hassle that wouldn’t have been present if the schedule had stayed the same.