By Kareem Gomersall, Y11
Since the birth of the modern school, there has been a standard format that timetables follow. Ellwood P. Cupperly, the dean of Stanford University at the turn of the twentieth century, stated that “Our schools are, in a sense, factories, in which the raw materials – children – are to be shaped and fashioned into products.” Although Ecolint is a very progressive school and aims to encourage individuality, it still follows a somewhat traditional timetable.
In an interview with Dr Hawley, he pointed out how the schedule we employ (that of a 5-day timetable which repeats every week) has not changed since the mid twentieth century, also adding that the timetable is very “resource centred” and not “student centred.”
When Dr Hawley arrived at Ecolint, he shadowed students from each of the three Ecolint campuses, and reached the conclusion that there were too many transitions each day. There was simply too much happening. Having a maximum of six classes a day could mean six assignments, presentations or tests. This inevitably causes unnecessary stress and worry, but there is a solution.
Another issue I have often experienced, is cases when I was out of school or had questions about coursework, and teachers had to take time out of their own day by helping students during morning and lunch breaks or after school.
Dr Hawley continued by saying that the new schedule, which would consist of a nine-day rotation, would address that too; each class would be somewhere between one hour and eighty minutes, allowing time at the end of class to meet with teachers, mentors, complete extra school work, or de-stress and be ready for the class ahead. The nine-day timetable could, for example, start on a Monday and finish the Thursday of the following week, totaling to a nine day schedule. This means each week would differ.
Although many students worry that the change in timetable, which would make every week different, is confusing, it is not the only option. Another possibility is the A/B rotation, where a student would complete one half of their timetable in one week and finish it the next, then start over. Even changing just a few classes per week could have a huge affect.
Moving towards a more flexible timetable may be better for the school community. Having less classes every day would mean a more evenly distributed workload. A possible later start would mean more sleep, hopefully leading to increased academic performances. White space between classes would mean no more after school help sessions, and a rotating schedule would mean you wouldn’t have to go to the same class every Monday morning or Friday afternoon.
As Dr Hawley said, change is hard, and it takes time. But I think that a more flexible and student centered schedule is what this school needs to move from the twentieth century into the twenty first.
