This New Schedule is Exactly What We Needed
By: Nicholas Rose
With three weeks of school having passed, I feel like I can now officially voice my support for this year’s new and improved schedule. Compared to the constantly-evolving schedules of last year, it’s a game changer—the administration has effectively responded to the appeals of the student body. When I wrote an op-ed last spring trying to create an effective schedule myself, I realized how difficult it really is to balance time for academics, homework, sleep, clubs/activities, and social gatherings. However, it seems from the first few weeks that our administration should be lauded for their solutions to these challenges.
Last year, the homework load seemed to be the foremost complaint voiced by the student body, as we felt consistently inundated by a wave of assignments. The advent of the “short block” has proven to be quite an effective resolution for this issue, as it allows students to take a rest from homework once a week per subject. While the nightly homework load is still considerable, it now feels more manageable with an hour less of homework. I have also enjoyed experiencing the different ways in which teachers make use of this class time, as it often brings a welcome break from the repetition of harkness.
One “long block” for each class a week offsets the time lost during the short period and brings its own set of advantages. A seventy-minute harkness discussion can certainly be difficult to complete, but many teachers have utilized this time for assessments and labs. Both of these activities are difficult to wedge in a time period of fifty minutes, so much of my stress regarding assessment completion has been alleviated.
Another major downside of last year’s schedules was the stress produced by the sheer volume of classes and activities during the day. However, the strategic placement of events like faculty meetings, reserve blocks, office hours, and universal frees allows students to stop and catch their breath at multiple points during the day. Personally, my ability to sleep in on multiple days also improves the challenge of making it through the school week without facing utter exhaustion towards the end.
One downside to the addition of free blocks of time is the decrease in the time between classes. Whereas ten minutes last year was enough to journey from the fourth floor of the Science Building to the second floor of Phillips Hall, five minutes makes it often difficult to arrive on time, especially when teachers inevitably dismiss students a few minutes late. This difficulty also applies to little time before afternoon practices, and I have heard many students voice frustration that the universal free was not placed after F format.
The Exeter tradition of Saturday classes will always be a point of conflict between the students and administration, but I will say that it is very difficult to find voices amongst the students and teachers supporting this practice. With homework and even tests due Saturday, the cleansing effect of the weekend is practically negated, as students are allowed only one night to relax and recharge. Saturday classes were not implemented last year, and this choice made weekends much more enjoyable.
Creating an effective schedule is an extremely difficult task, but I believe that the administration approached this year in a much more empathetic manner than last. When it comes to homework and class time, less is sometimes more, as students do not need to be constantly productive in order to be challenged and perform at their full potential. While there are certainly a few scheduling shortfalls that hopefully can be ironed out for the future, generally it seems as though the mindset change has paid off and that all-too-familiar burnout may be avoided this year.