While schools changed to help students and teachers in a pandemic, it’s time some of those changes are reversed — starting with term scheduling. 

Before last year, high school students had eight blocks, going to four one day and four the next in an 18-week semester. To help students and teachers manage if we were forced to go online due to Covid-19, DHS switched to term scheduling — four classes for nine weeks, then the other four the next nine weeks.

I will admit, term scheduling is easier for some because they’ll only have four classes to worry about. But terms are not effective for a lot of students.

The biggest problem is it hurts academic activities. 

Take band, for example. Band class needs to happen both semesters because the marching band is in fall, concert band in spring. The only way to do this with term scheduling is basically taking two years worth of band in one year. 

This takes up time students could be using to take other classes, leading to some quitting. For honors students trying to get in specific classes, it’s possible they cannot give up two of eight blocks for band. 

For a student who loves music and wants to be in Madrigals and band, those two academic activities would take up half that student’s schedule. The current schedule will force freshmen to make these choices before they can even try things. 

Since 2019, band has gone from 136 members to 97. If we stay with terms, the band, and other academic activities, will probably shrink more. 

Another problem with terms is there is a chance to have all four core classes at the same time, likely leading to four classes worth of intense homework every night. 

With the traditional block schedule, we had two days to do any of the homework we were given, making everything more flexible. 

One final issue with terms is it could put more time in between classes that require the knowledge you learned last year. Teachers will have to take more time to review what students learned. 

For example, a student could take math during the first semester one year, then not have math again until second semester the following year, leaving almost a year in between. 

I am involved in three academic activities I enjoy and want to do all the way through school: newspaper, band and choir. Most people would say it’s good for a high school student to be involved in these things. 

But all of those need to be both semesters for the programs to be strong and for me to get the most out of them.

Our current schedule punishes students like me.

This could easily be solved by switching back to the traditional block schedule.