As we go along the school year, flexing is starting to become more routine and prevalent in blended classes. Some classes are starting to flex up to three times per week. This, along with having even more flex classes in one’s schedule, means a lot of time either outside of the classroom or working independently in class. Students are having to become more independent and responsible for their own work and how they manage their time.
During flex days, teachers create an assignment and students can either do it in class or outside of the classroom. Most flex days are like the normal days of class work, except one can leave the building and do it on a different schedule, which creates a positive learning experience for students wanting to be more independent. Ryan Latta, a junior at FHC, has taken flex classes in the past and is taking three flex classes this year. He is taking blended AP Language and Composition, AP American Government and Politics, and Personal Finance. Flexing approximately three times a week, Personal Finance is the class that Latta flexes in the most.
“In personal finance, we learn a lot about how to take care of finances and things like that. During flex days, we pretty much do the same thing as we would on normal days and a lot of online stuff we could just do at home. Since I have personal finance for first hour, a lot of days I just get to sleep in and it is really nice,” Latta said. “I do believe this class should be blended, and I don’t think it’s really a class where you need a lot of teacher intervention. A lot of the time, she just posts slides we can work on anytime.”
However, flexing is up to the student. Some classes may be harder than others and require a more focused mindset at school, like a teacher not just giving one an assignment to do anywhere, but a lecture that is more beneficial to the student if they are there. Other classes are great for blended learning, as most of the work can be done independently outside of the school. Sydney Taylor, a junior, is in five different blended learning classes. One of those being French, which does require a lot of in-school learning, but also personal work that can be done in other places.
“I think it is a great thing this class is flexible, because a lot of this work I could be doing on my own and at home, so it feels pretty nice to be able to go home early at the end of the day and do it there rather than stay at school,” Taylor said. “French flexes two or three times a week.”
Flex classes are a great way to offer students the freedom to fit their individual needs by learning at a pace and schedule that is sustainable for them. This can heavily reduce stress, especially with students balancing school and their jobs, along with having extracurriculars or even family responsibilities around the house. This overall allows students to be more responsible with their time. If they choose to slack off, they will most likely see worse results, but if they choose to take ownership of their work and education and how they attack the assignments, it will result in students developing better time management skills, staying motivated, and overall succeeding more. Dr. Jennifer Miller, a Spanish teacher, is teaching three flex classes this year. Though she has seen some negative effects, so far she has had a really pleasant experience with her students flexing and thinks very highly of blended learning in general.
“Some students just take the flex hours as a free period, when the intent is I give an assignment and you have the time to work on it with the time you are given,” Miller said. “Overall, though, it helps students a lot to stay in check, with the penalty of not doing work that you won’t be able to flex. When they have a test coming up, students who need extra help can come in and get focused help because there is not a room full of students who also need help.”
Though there are some benefits of being in class and not being in class, overall, blended learning is a great way to get yourself more comfortable with having your own schedule and being a more independent student.
