Last year, Haverford worked hard to maintain in-person learning, resulting in a routine unique to the pandemic. Students sat through three ninety-minute classes each day. Following changes in the schedule this year, many students have noticed a shift in the academic climate.
One of the changes this year has been 75-minute class periods, in which students can pay attention in class for longer periods of time.
“I think a 75-minute class is just perfect,” Fifth Former Matthew Kang said. “Last year, classes felt way too long, and I knew I couldn’t pay attention for 90 minutes. With a fifteen-minute decrease in class length and a free period in the day, I feel much more refreshed and ready to focus.”
Even with the reduction of class time, some classes are still moving at the same pace.
“Because of mask breaks last year, the classes are generally the same length,” Fourth Former Render Ford said.
Perhaps the most prominent change this year has been the re-introduction of free periods. With the increase in homework, free periods have helped lessen the student home workloads.
[The free periods] enable me to catch up with my friends and take a break from sometimes an overwhelming amount of school work.
Matthew Kang ’23
“[The free periods] enable me to catch up with my friends and take a break from sometimes an overwhelming amount of school work,” Kang said. “They also take some pressure off the night before and the forthcoming night.”
“Homework has increased because we are sophomores now, and free periods are a great time to get homework done,” Ford said.
Students seem to appreciate the changes made to the schedule as they feel that the class length and amount of homework optimize their learning potential.
Kang said, “This tradeoff of class time and homework is worth it for me and my peers’ mental well being.”
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