Academic Support Block (ASB), a unique feature of the school, is a dedicated block of time for students to manage their work and attend teacher office hours. This initiative, designed with students’ best interests in mind, is a testament to the school’s commitment to academic success.
Students’ uses of ASB differ. Many students just play games during the period and relax between classes or organize work they have to do later. But considering why ASB was initially created (for academic support), would students use that time for other things?
“ASB should be free; you should be able to walk around whenever you want,” Third Former Patch Hope said. “You should be able to go to the café and grab a snack. It’s enough time to do short homework assignments like my math homework.”
Third Former Jack Luterman agrees.
“I often need more time to do certain assignments,” Luterman said. “[ASB] doesn’t have enough time for me to lock in.”
We also must remember that everything the school does is to prepare us for adulthood, and sometimes, you don’t have the luxury of built-in free time. Haverford is trying to limit us to doing school work, which is good, but if you have other needs or don’t have more work, ASB should be free time. The school is trying to convey a message that you can always do more work to help yourself, and I agree, but there’s a time and place for everything, and sometimes ASB is not that time.
Fifth Former Patrick Cohen remembers when he did not have ASB. “I do sometimes get work done; other times, if I do not have much homework, I’ll play games, but if I really need to get stuff done, it’s a time for me to lock in and focus,” Cohen said. “If anything, I would add more time to Community block because I remember my freshman year, when we didn’t have ASB, Community time made you feel closer as a school. I would say if Community time were longer than ASB, that would be good.”
Middle school does not have any freedom to do what you want, and upper school has a lot more, but when you have a job, you have total freedom; you can do whatever you want or need to get your work done. That could be taking a break, seeing how other peers are doing the work, or building stronger relationships with the people around you, so you can work together and help each other.
That’s how ASB should be, too. 30 minutes is either too long or too short. It’s not enough time to do any hard work because 20 minutes is organizing what you must do and making an order. Then, the other fifteen is for getting to your next class and packing up, maybe getting five minutes into your work to do the same thing later.
Community is an important block for the upper school. I really bond with all my classmates during Community time, especially during advisory and clubs, and learning about Sixth Form Reflections also builds a connection. Overall, ASB helps students individually, but does not help us get to know our brothers more.
Either way, this dedicated block of time helps us when we most need help, in tough times when you need more time to do work, ASB will always be there for you.
