I am assuming Mr. Hobbs, an English teacher by profession, is well versed in rhetoric. I'm thinking he is, because he uses it extensively to persuade the reader that black is white (or perhaps black is grey).
If, as he argues San Marcos has: "designed a better way to structure the day to meet the demands of the 21st century," why is there no empirical evidence to substantiate this? Instead the only evidence he gives is the classic bland generalization: "The vast majority of our students go on to succeed at some of the country’s top institutions of higher learning." I'm afraid that all three local high schools could make this identical claim, and two don't use the block schedule. Instead, if you look at the only empirical evidence that can logically compare the three high schools, state standardized testing, San Marcos is currently second out of the three, and was third out of the three last year. This hardly seems like "a better way to structure the day to meet the demands of the 21st century." And if you investigate how San Marcos overtook Santa Barbara High to become number two in the district on standardized testing, you will find that they used mostly gimmicks like rewarding students who achieved on the state tests with things like preferred parking spots, longer lunches, and off campus permits. This hardly speaks well for block scheduling.
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Posted on April 11 at 8:42 p.m.
I am assuming Mr. Hobbs, an English teacher by profession, is well versed in rhetoric. I'm thinking he is, because he uses it extensively to persuade the reader that black is white (or perhaps black is grey).
If, as he argues San Marcos has: "designed a better way to structure the day to meet the demands of the 21st century," why is there no empirical evidence to substantiate this? Instead the only evidence he gives is the classic bland generalization: "The vast majority of our students go on to succeed at some of the country’s top institutions of higher learning." I'm afraid that all three local high schools could make this identical claim, and two don't use the block schedule. Instead, if you look at the only empirical evidence that can logically compare the three high schools, state standardized testing, San Marcos is currently second out of the three, and was third out of the three last year. This hardly seems like "a better way to structure the day to meet the demands of the 21st century." And if you investigate how San Marcos overtook Santa Barbara High to become number two in the district on standardized testing, you will find that they used mostly gimmicks like rewarding students who achieved on the state tests with things like preferred parking spots, longer lunches, and off campus permits. This hardly speaks well for block scheduling.
On The Academic Focus Block Schedule