Block Scheduling
Dear Editor,
I believe in the idea of Albert Lea High School using block scheduling. This would allow an alternate-day schedule where teachers and students meet every other day, which means classes last for extended periods of time rather than shorter periods. Students would attend three or four classes each day instead of the typical seven. Many different factors encourage this modified schedule, including the following:
Teachers are able to give students more individual instruction.
Longer learning activities can be completed given the extended amount of time.
Students have less information to process throughout the school day, which provides more time for reflection.
Teachers receive extended planning time.
According to Michael D. Rettig and Robert Lynn Canady, a form of block scheduling is either used or being considered in more than 50 percent of high schools in the United States. Research has shown that students display a stronger academic performance when they have longer time periods in each of their classes. They are given more time to engage in the lesson and learn more actively. If this is the case, and students are better off with this schedule, why doesn’t our school use it?
Anna Bordewick, sophomore

Final Exams

Dear Editor, Finals are frustrating.
I think putting finals all in one week is a very stressful thing on all students. All day it has been very hard to concentrate in my current class that I’m in, while I’m stressing out about a final that I have later on in the day. Because of finals there are many high school students that are grumpy and not getting enough sleep from staying up studying and worrying about the next day. Finals week is definitely one of the most hated weeks in the school so here are some suggestions to help it become less unbearable. It would be much easier to have different types of finals in each class, some written assignments, slides and special projects. Or have finals broken up into separate pieces throughout 2 weeks or so. One of these ideas is bound to make the end of the quarter or semester much easier.
Michaela Nelson, junior

School Board Update
At the November 21 School Board meeting, the idea to name the Albert Lea High School gymnasium after Orrie Jirele was presented by Max Jeffrey and Jim Haney.
Their hope is to honor Jirele for all of time and love he put into ALHS, teaching his students and working with his basketball players.
Their hope is that the dedication of the gym can be done on February 25 at a home basketball game verses Austin.
If passed there will be signs hung around the outside of the gym with Jirele’s name and and an “OJ” painted on the floor by the home team’s bench.
Jeffrey and Haney also hope to create a scholarship fund the money raised for it would come from an AL basketball day in honor of Jirele where students 4th grade and up, boys and girls, would play basketball games throughout the day.
The board will meet again in December with a final vote on the naming of our gym.
Justine Nelson, senior

Balanced Calendar
Dear Editor,
I believe in the idea that Albert Lea Area Schools should use a modified or balanced school calendar. Studies have shown that during summer students lose some of the knowledge that they learned during the year. With a modified or balanced school calendar students get less time to forget that knowledge.
In a balanced school calendar there are longer holiday or seasonal breaks. The longer breaks give students and families time to spend together or offer a perfect time for vacation, rather than having to miss school. Another example why this would benefit our schools students is that when we come back from summer vacation we spend about the first month reviewing the things we learned the year before. While some students need this review others are just fine and don’t. With a shorter summer vacation and short holiday vacations there would only be a few days to a week or so of review, allowing more time to learn new things.
In conclusion I believe that students at our school would greatly benefit from switching to a modified or balanced school calendar soon in following school years.
Morgan Bjorklund, sophomore