Reflections on Repetition: Our New Academic Schedule

          In the midst of a grueling Lawrenceville Winter Term, it may seem impossible to look ahead; however, next year’s academic schedule is nothing if not attention-grabbing. The approaching schedule may seem familiar to our seniors who are starting to plan their upcoming college courses. Without an official announcement, whispers abound of block periods, early class starts, and no-class Saturdays. Initial reactions to such great change seem to have passed over the student body, and as of now, there seems to be no common consensus.

 

          A recent parent seminar first revealed the 2024-25 Class Rotation Schedule, which was then announced at house meetings and released to house academic representatives. While it is unclear how much of the student body has seen the new schedule, it is certain they are in for a drastic change. Classes will all be 80 minutes long, and the academic day will span from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM. A, B, and C periods meet one day, and D, E, and F meet the next. Six days make up one “cycle,” and without many Saturday classes, each daily schedule in the cycle will not be tied to a specific day of the week. Between the second and third periods each day is an hour and a half daily break for lunch and “community,” which includes house time, club meeting slots, or space for School Meeting. 

          It is easy to criticize the new schedule. Earlier class starts mean less sleep, an already constant uphill battle for Lawrentians. Eighty-minute class periods will be inevitably painful for the short attention spans of teenagers, reducing class productivity. This added time to daily periods also seems unnecessary for the lower level courses. It can even be argued that these practically identical days are bound to suck students into the monotonous cycle of campus life. Although imperfect, at least the current schedule offers a variety of start and end times that don’t let you forget whether today is tomorrow or yesterday. 

          As a sophomore taking six classes with no free periods, committed to two hours of athletics every day after school, serving on the board of three publications, and running a club, it comes as no surprise that I have no free time. Life at Lawrenceville, especially for boarders, easily slips into a continuous loop of waking up, going to class, going to sports, doing homework, going to sleep, and repeat. Time spent with friends is limited to meals and greeting each other as we pass in the halls. Days melt together, and the simple joys common in everyday life outside of Lawrenceville are lost.

           The upcoming schedule will only escalate this phenomenon. Classes start and end at the exact same time every single day. Each period will start and end at the exact same time-of-day every day. The Lawrentians’ dreaded lab period will become a constant reality. Exhausted students will watch the seconds tick by for eighty minutes, then drag themselves to the next period, and the next. Every class over an hour long will drain the vigor from already overworked students. Lawrenceville already has a tendency to replace student drive and passion with work, sports, and the demand for filler on college resumés, and the new schedule will only exacerbate it. 

          This is not to say that there are no benefits to the new schedule. I love the School, its rigorous academics, and the brilliant friends I have made here. Extended lunch periods and daily consults support this community aspect of Lawrenceville, allowing more opportunities to socialize with peers and communicate with teachers. In addition, having only three classes per day might mean less nightly homework and more time dedicated to extracurriculars. However, I maintain that we students need variety, sleep, and an administration that listens to our specific concerns rather than replacing a schedule that satisfies most of the student body with one that traps us in the neverending drone of eighty-minute periods and early class starts.