New Z on the Block

Hopkinton High School experimented with a different schedule by adding a z block for 40 minutes. The intent for this block was to allow for students to get help in any class that they need help in. This z block has been tried for two days, and now we have to figure out if it is a success. Some students have used it wisely while others have not. For those students who have used it wisely find that 40 minutes is not enough to get what they want. Others use is as a do nothing period, which will not help them in the long wrong.

I find that this z block is useless and very inconvenient. Most of the teachers that I have class with use all 90 minutes that each block is. Shortening each block causes several things to happen. So far this block has been confusing because of the time changes. Also, for those teachers who use the entire 90 minutes will want to use the 90 minutes every day in all of their classes. Before the z block happened every class will normally start roughly 5 minutes late because of human nature and other little things that teachers have to take care of. That leaves 85 minutes of learning. When z block was thrown into the schedule it would take maybe 10 minutes to start class because of the confusion and because some of the teachers would try to squeeze in one more thing or two about the subject. This leaves roughly 70 minutes of learning, 15 less minutes for learning. For some classes, for example Calculus, we will start class before 8:00 because there is a lot to learn in a short amount of time. AP Physics is the same thing. We need the entire 90 minutes not 70.

When we had z block, the first day I tried to use it by studying for my SATs. I found that 40 minutes was not enough time to actually get into studying. I gave up trying to do anything on the second day because overall 40 minutes is a waste of time. Most of the students have at-least or should have 1 study hall in the 2 day rotation. Those study halls are actually useful and helpful because we have time to put our mind into what we need to do. Keeping these is all a student needs; not a 40 minute z block.

Hypocrisy in Hopkinton

“Wikipedia is not a valid source,” is a constant refrain from the Hopkinton High School’s English department. The site maintainers of Wikipedia know this, too. There is a disclaimer stating that, “Wikipedia cannot guarantee the validity of the information found here.” People can log into the site and change the information, either because they think the new information is right, or because they want to mess with the site’s readers. It is perfectly understandable that teachers don’t want students using the site for research papers.

But if the school doesn’t want students to use Wikipedia, then they should not use it either. On page 27 of the school’s handbook, there is a cover letter that introduces the student and parent section, where the school’s theme is described. The passage goes as follows: “This year our school theme will be “Discovery!” According to the website Wikipedia, discovery refers to exploring something new…” If students are not allowed to use and cite this website, the school should not do it. The school is promoting the use of the website in public works by showing that they use it to. Students could try to use the school’s documented use of Wikipedia as a reason or excuse for using the website in research papers. Hypocrisy is never a good thing, and to find it in a school system makes the rest of the rules of the school less valid.