My primary observation of the 4 Period Day study performed by CESA---and I have waited a week reviewing the video several times---was that it reflected a fear of DATA and a fear of ACTIONABLE IDEAS. The lack of both made the study a waste of time....and money. I had argued in the school board election debate that a consultant review would be useful. I now have to admit that I was wrong. Readers may make a note of it.
School Board members pressed for both the data and the conclusions at the recent August school board meeting. They found little if any of either. They seemed frustrated that there were no actionable ideas----but judge for yourself in the videos to follow.
This is one of several video snapshots of the meeting. The Evansville Review has a good article this week by Tammy Pomplun which you may find interesting. Enjoy.
Download File
The Evansville Observer Archive: The unofficial history of Evansville, Wisconsin from 2005-2013: Thousands of Video and Audio and Articles; Free: To Search scroll to the Search this Blog line and enter name of person, topic, or issue. Then scroll up to see all articles. Or use Google Search by topic. Enjoy.
What is the deal with messing with something that is working. From what I read and have listened to this block program for the most part work.. I have a child who has e.b.d. issues and I was worried about how well he would do with such long class periods.. a few kinks here and there but he has actually done quite well.
ReplyDeleteI have heard people talk about kids get to college and don't know what its like to have to do home work because they had all this time in high school. Baloney.
I have talked with several present college students and there point was if you are serious about what you are doing , you are just fine.
So leave whats not broken alone.
I think the school has other pressing issues they need to be dealing with.
The comment anon made, "this block program for the most part work." That's like saying, 'Yah, my car leaks oil, and the brakes squeak really bad, but for the most part it works.'
ReplyDelete"For the most part" is not good enough -- not for this parent, and I suspect not for this community.
Here's some ways it's not working: 1. Kids who take Spanish I can wait up until a year later to take Spanish II, then III and IV. The same can be said for other classes that build on each other, including mathematics.
2. Wellness is a BIG issue nowadays. The school and federal gov are spending our tax money teaching kids to stay fit and eat well. Yet, we give the high schoolers only nine weeks of phy ed per year. How can they learn lifelong fitness when only nine out of 52 weeks is spent exploring recreation and being physically active?
3. AP testing for college classes occurs in March/April. But the AP class for which a student is tested ends in December. Students have difficulty passing these AP tests because three to four months has passed since the class ended.
There are MANY, MANY more reasons why the block period as it is at EHS does not work. Like the car, it make look like it works, but it may not being working at peak performance. Yes, EHS recently received the Blue Ribbon Award, but that was based on one classes' outstanding performance, not the performance of the school as a whole. And, studies show that girls are performing way better than the boys.
So leaving along what is not broken is not the best idea. The car's motor will seize up without oil and when the brakes fail, the results can be devastating.
We can improve and the School Board is committed to providing the VERY BEST education for each child, not just "working for the most part.
When I said it works for the most part, there are far more people who like the block then dislike. I work as a aide in the school and have heard far more positive than negative.
ReplyDeleteThere are other ways for your child to take spanish you just have to do more of the leg work, and if you are so serious about them taking spanish that should not be a issue.
Have you watched phy ed classes these days?? They are a joke.
Instead of having kids run and play games they have them doing almost as much book work as the regular subjects.
Either kids are active or they are not. Gym class is not going to make or break them.
Going back to the 7/8subject day is not going to improve education at the high school . In fact it may have the opposite effect.
You may see a higher drop out/failure rate because alot of kids take advantage of the 90 minute class time to get extra help from the teachers, something they did not get with the 7/8 hr class schedule.
So the community was mislead believing the school earned the ' blue ribbon award''??? When really it was only one class???
That is not nearly the accomplishment I thought it was then if it is only one class.
That is discouraging to hear.
There are plenty of parents who arrange extra clases for their children outside of the school system.
Why ??? Because the of the school budget.
They can afford to offer alot of the classes as other local schools.
Why the budget.. It's been screwed up for a long time.
I can't imagine going back to a 7/8 subject school day.
ReplyDeleteThey don't have enough classes now to fill a schedule.
My daughter who will be a senoir this year, was scrambling last year to find classes to take to fill a schedule.
She ending up taking two classes that she had no interest in at all and could have cared less about.
With the exception of 2 classes she has met all her requirements for graduation.
She has taken some college courses over the summer and last summer. because this school does not offer squat.
To fiveonearth, I am curious as to what specifics don't work about the block program? Besides the spanish.
ReplyDeleteI listed three instances...
ReplyDelete1. continuation of classes (Spanish, math and sciences);
2. Wellness, physical fitness;
3. AP testing.
There are more - you do the research.
To the school aid, who is saying they like it? Probably the teachers, who have much less teaching time, counting together the so-called prep time and the time they set aside in class to supposedly do homework. Isn't that for after school? That's why they call it HOMEwork. If the kids don't understand it at home, it's because the teacher's aren't teaching it in a way students can learn when they are at school.
I can't believe you'd have students saying they love the block schedule, unless of course, they like having the extra goof-off time during classes.
My own child could not do her homework in class, was too distracted. It was/is a waste of time.
And, Ms. Aide, if you are so knowledgable about school things, why didn't you know that the Blue Ribbon class was for one class' performance. Perhaps you didn't get the whole story -- as may be the case with the block schedule. Perhaps you are hearing only one side.
You say there are other ways to take a class, such as Spanish. Why should I send my kid to UW Rock, which I have done (BTW at taxpayer expense, as are all Youth Options classes), to take a class when it is offered, or could be offered in Evansville? It makes ABSOLUTELY no sense NOT to offer such successive course one right after the other and that includes the transition between Algebra I to Geometry to Algebra II to Trig, and INtro to Science to Physics to Chemistry. There should not be a half-year to a year-and-a half wait between those classes.
If the gym classes aren't working properly, something should be done. But to say that if a kid isn't physical then it doesn't matter, doesn't make sense. THat's like saying, let's fill up the lunch menu with both healthy foods and junk foods. Those who eat junk always will, so let's just give it to them.
You say that "you may see a higher dropout rate." On what are you basing your facts? One could as easily say, "you may see a lower drop-out rate." School administration has said that the block schedule has little to do with the drop out rate, that is more about at-risk.
No one said we need to go to a seven period class. A more blended block/traditional schedule may be better, with block in the a.m. and skinnies in the afternoon. That way, students get their successive courses one after the other in the afternoon (all year long), such as Spanish, gym, chorus and band, and then get classes that thrive on the longer period, such as sciences, in the morning. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?