Opinions: the 80 Minutes Block

Note: All interviews and quotes in this articles did, in fact, take place. The names, however, are changed for privacy reasons.

There is a poll at the end of the article for you to vote: what do you think about the 80 minutes block?

The start of the 2023 school year of KCISLK welcomes a wide variety of changes. Despite the classrooms of several grades being moved around and the modifications of offices along with the introduction to many new faces, a major change is the fact that we currently have four blocks of 80 minutes of class (technically none-stop) a day (plus the addition of a 40 minutes period).

These newly instituted changes impacted the students deeply. We therefore asked different groups with different stances about their opinions on the alterations concerning the timetable. First, we interviewed students from the international programme.

The time for the actual in-course content is rather short,

explained Magnolia. She also added that they preferred the previous timetable more, for the time was more medium and shorter per period. Countering the effects of the long duration of the blocks, Magnolia furthermore proposed,

Also, the long duration of class time makes people's brain fuzzy.

Juan, on the other hand, has different stances. He argues that the 80 minutes per block system,

prepares us better for university. And we now have an additional period to use to our own benefits!

Juan then suggested the fact that universities have longer periods of class time, and that we should get used to it as soon as possible. He also is a fan of the fifth period (period h or m), to which he is allowed to discuss topics such as classworks and more with his peers. He, however, admits that,

the system is a bit exhausting.

Another interviewee, Angelo, revealed that he did not actually care much about the long duration of classes, just that (he feels)

nice about the fact that we get longer lunchtimes.

We then went over to the SP programme and asked about their takes on this change.

I feel like everything is fine, but I hope the swimming classes can be shorter,

stated June. June was evidently unhappy about the swimming lessons, which have already been shortened.

Oh, and history classes have been particularly painful.

Augustin is a new student new to our school. He clarified that he believes,

(Having 80 minutes blocks) is tiring for students, but also more efficient.

For context, Augustin comes from a school that had 40 minutes per period (with nine periods per day). He also believes that the 80 minutes blocks would give the teachers more options whilst planning the course.

So, what do you think about the 80 minutes block system?

Feel free to vote in the poll below.

What do you think about the 80 minutes block system?

• Exhausting
• I actually like this system more
• I absolutely hate this system
• I just like the addition of the h or m period

See All Options

Clock by Adobe Stock

Note: All interviews and quotes in this articles did, in fact, take place. The names, however, are changed for privacy reasons. Please respect other people's opinions, as everyone might have distinct opinions on one topic. This article is, moreover, not meant to polarise people in the school.