Student Teaching at Rancho Buena Vista

The bell schedule at Rancho Buena Vista is very complicated with a combination of both traditional and block days. Mondays are late start with teacher inservice. This is very beneficial for planning and collaboration with fellow teachers in the subject.
Tuesdays are block even periods (2,4 6) and Wednesdays are odd blocks (1, 3, 5). These block days are in the middle of the week which makes it a good time to conduct lab experiments and in depth discussions on the material. The block days are roughly 120 minutes (2 hours) and one can introduce a great deal of information and really expand on it during this time. Thursdays and Fridays are traditional with roughly 60 minute blocks. The drawback to this schedule is that it requires a lot of planning for the various time allotments. Lessons need to be planned accordingly to the time clock. Planning and implementation of diverse lesson designs is vital for success in this type of scheduling. The drawback is the confusion of the days and the outline of the course content.

Student Teaching at El Camino

I did my first semester at El Camino and witnessed a traditional bell schedule. This traditional schedule consisted of six periods of roughly 60 minute time intervals. The day started at 7:30 and ended at 2:18 with seven minute passing periods. On Wednesdays it was late start, so the students started at 8:00 am. I liked this because it made the day very structured and the periods were short. It was not confusing and I liked seeing the same students every day. Drawbacks were that homework could not be assigned for the next day. Students could have obligations that needed to be taken into consideration. Sometimes the short period felt like I could not get all the material covered. Overall, I like traditional bell schedules but also see how block periods can be beneficial.

My experience as a student at Vista High School

As a student attending Vista High in San Diego, I experienced a block schedule first hand. The week ran as follows: Monday-late start 8:30-2:20 while Tuesday through Friday were regular block periods starting at 7:30-2:20. The week was entirely set up as block with roughly 100 minute time periods. This type of schedule allowed me to prepare for homework assignments over two nights. I would not have to worry about an assignment due the next day. This also allowed for you to get extra help the following day is there was something that needed clarification from that teacher. Drawbacks were the periods were long and sometimes seemed like the teachers didn't know how to fill the period and it was confusing which day it was (odd-1,3,5 or even-2,4,6).