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Not all students are of same intelligence level. Some take longer time to grasp a concept compared to others. While there is a certain speed of learning for every individual, educators and scholars try to come up with innovative methods and ways so that the efficiency of students can be increased to a great extent. This also helps those who’re slower in understanding concepts to easily grasp the subject. Block scheduling is another such educational reform that has been adapted by educators to increase the learning potential of students. The importance of education cannot be underestimated and people are trying to constantly come up with ways to better our education system. Like every educational reform, there are various block scheduling pros and cons and in this article I’ll discuss about them.

Pros and Cons of Block Scheduling

In block scheduling educational system, more emphasis is laid on a student spending more time on a particular subject.

For instance, in normal class lectures, it’s said that a student only gets 40 to 50 minutes on a subject. However, in block scheduling, the time for each subject is lengthened to 90 minutes. It’s said this allows a student to study the same lesson properly for a longer period of time. Nevertheless, the block scheduling debate is an ongoing one and it’s difficult to judge if block scheduling is a solution or a problem. Let’s know more about block scheduling pros and cons…

Block Scheduling Advantages
Basically, there are various types of block scheduling. However, most common are the alternate day schedule and the 4 X 4 block. In the alternate day schedule, the students are not required to meet daily, instead they need to go to school every alternate day for longer periods of time.

On the other hand, in the 4 X 4 block scheduling, students are allowed to take four classes per semester. For students, it’s important to at least complete 8 classes of both types of block scheduling teaching methods in a year. There are various other types of block scheduling methods and even a school can come up with its own method as per the convenience of its students. Here are some advantages of block scheduling:
More time for the student to study a particular topic. He can assimilate information and concepts easily without getting stressed.
Less waste of time in transition due to class openings and closings. This helps to prevent the chances of losing focus due to constant change during breaks.
Students can get time to understand the subject better owing to instructional training and they also get more time to concentrate.
Teachers can focus on special needs and requirements of children. He or she can concentrate on weak points of the student and help deal with it.
Less burden of homework on students because they’ll have fewer subjects to study daily rather than a heap of assignments per day.
Better and longer duration of access to science laboratories and libraries.
More time and creativity to focus on other important aspects of extra curricular activities.
Block scheduling encourages student interaction and promotes socialization skills.
Block Scheduling Disadvantages
Discussing block scheduling pros and cons would be incomplete if we don’t take a look at the other side of the argument. Here are some demerits of block scheduling:
For a single day’s absence, a student will have to take the assignment worth two days home, which can prove to be stressful.
Due to alternate days and focusing for long time on one subject, subjects such as Maths and foreign language, that require frequent revision, may become difficult to grasp.
There is lack of well trained teachers for block scheduling training owing to block scheduling being a new system introduced for educational reform.
This was all about block scheduling pros and cons and hopefully, you must have got some idea about this relatively new form of educational reform. Whether this is the best educational practice or not is a subjective matter and so, whether you wish to enroll your child based on this educational system or not is solely your decision to make.

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It’s small enough to hold in one hand and when bonded together goes together to form a work of triumph or tragedy; the brick has been used as the building product of choice for over 5000 years.

Made predominantly from pliable clay, add heat and this material is transformed into ‘rock’ (a process called vitrification) that has a compressive strength of up to 1000lbs per square inch. Add certain minerals and compounds and this compressive strength can be increased even further.

Bricks are a durable building and construction material that has been the cornerstone of engineering over the centuries. With good load-bearing properties, high thermal mass and potential low energy impact, the brick’s versatility has been shown in the construction of walls such as the Great Wall of China down to houses, drives, chimneys and arches.

Whilst a brick is strong, fireproof (you only have to see that the Great Fire of London in 1666 stopped wherever a brick building lay in its path) and resistant to the elements, any weakness lies in the mortar-the adhesive sand and cement or sand and lime agent that ‘glues’ the structure together.

The effect Earthquakes have on brick structures.

Brick structures do not like to be shaken, the vibration from earthquakes being responsible for any failure of the building.

This failure occurs at the weakest point – the mortar joints. New build construction has developed special seismic brick ties that are fixed to the inner structural core. The brick façade has the ability to move up and down the building and ‘float’ as an independent unit.

Other advances have been developed to make existing buildings in earthquake prone areas more resilient to damage.

New epoxy reinforcing ‘fabric’ can be adhered over a brick face which disperses forces so that the bricks and mortar are held together thus minimising any damage.
Brick as a Modern Methods of Construction

With the requirements to build lighter and stronger buildings more quickly, steel frame and concrete structures are now being employed as the construction method of choice for structural walls and frames with brick being used as an aesthetic decorative cladding product.

With sustainable construction high on the agenda, efforts are being made to reduce the impact brick manufacture has on the environment.  Recycled glass and other waste materials have been introduced into the brick manufacturing process and can reduce firing times, temperatures and toxic emissions. At the same time they improve brick strength and durability, as well as reducing the waste going to landfill.

Earth bricks such as adobe and CEBs measure high on the sustainability index as they are made from locally available clay, sand, and water; low technology compression equipment is employed along with solar energy that assists the firing kilns.

Modern methods of brick construction have a much lower sustainability index. The UK brick industry has attempted to reduce the environmental impact of brick manufacture and continues to look at additional ways to increase its energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources.

Most writers will experience at least some form of writer’s block in the course of their efforts. It takes different forms for various people, as evidenced by the many expressions used to explain it.

“I don’t have any ideas.”

“Everything I write sounds stupid.”

“I just can’t get motivated.”

At the root of it, most writer’s block comes from fear or at least from uncertainty. Writing is like any other art – the writer must create something that will go out before the public for examination. This is a personal process, and carries with it the risk of rejection. Any artist can understand the fear of being mocked for his or her hard work, and it’s equally understandable that this would intimidate some people into hesitating when the time comes to write.

Before going much further, it must be said that there is no cure for writer’s block – those who suffer it push through to the other side with sheer willpower. The writer must exercise his or her judgment and forge ahead. Be that as it may, there are a number of techniques that can help rally a writer’s determination in order to bring them forward through the wall of fear and into the realm of joyful writing.

Technique #1 – Stand on Giants’ Shoulders

One of the most common instances of writer’s block comes when writing on a subject that many people have covered before. The fear is that there is nothing new to contribute to the matter, that anything additional would seem superfluous.

One technique, popularized in the movie Finding Forrester, is to search out similar writings on the subject by other authors. When a writer finds a piece they particularly like, they borrow a line or two from the author, and try to write further material from there. Once they hit their stride, they move on and produce an article entirely their own.

Note that last proviso in the technique – this is not permission to plagiarize. The original author’s contribution is simply to provide a starting point to the creative process, not to add anything to the final article. Once the process begins, the author must write his own work and not use anything from the original article unless he is willing to include it as a sourced quotation.

Technique #2 – Write in Bursts

Sometimes the psychological effects of writer’s block feel like a weight. Sitting down and writing becomes burdensome and exhausting, and wears the writer out as surely as heavy exercise.

In these cases, it can be counterproductive to try and write everything at once. Instead, the writer should sit down and try to write to a certain goal, say 200 words. If she hits her goal, she should try and keep writing. If she cannot reach it or takes unusually long to do so, she should stop for five minutes and do something else. Listen to music, eat a tasty snack or read something enlightening – then try again. These repeated small attacks on the subject will help wear it down without it seeming quite so massive.

Technique #3 – Shut Down the Editor

An in-process version of writer’s block was explained by Chris Baty, the creator of the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Baty argues that many writers sabotage their productivity by constantly self-editing and self-criticizing as they work, spending more time correcting what’s already been put down than putting out new copy.

The idea Baty suggests is to turn off this inner editor and write constantly without correction. The article will still be there when the writer finishes, so it can be corrected at the end rather than throughout the process. This allows writers to focus on the primary effort of creating their work rather than getting distracted.

Technique #4 – Write Backward

Another symptom of writer’s block is feeling that writing has become routine and less enjoyable than it used to be. The process is always the same, and has become predictable and stagnant. The solution is to change the order of how one approaches things.

Instead of working from the introduction, through the body and to a conclusion, the writer should work on the conclusion first. Write up a spot-on end topic to the piece, then fill in the rest accordingly. A story writer could begin with the ending chapter, and then write the rest out of order in a Tarantino-style kind of time-play. Whatever specific way it’s done, the idea is to approach writing from a different direction in order to awaken its enjoyment factor anew.

Technique #5 – Don’t Write, Speak

A lot of focus has been made lately on the technique of writing the way one speaks. Instead of dividing the mind between writing and speaking, one simply writes AS one speaks, getting the material down in a more authentic way. This may not always be appropriate, but it’s rarely completely out of place.

The idea is to avoid complicated sentences that reference back to parenthetical clauses and other assorted specialized writing hang-ups. The focus changes to short and direct language, with a clear message and point to each line.

This doesn’t mean to include every verbatim tic of a writer’s speaking style. “Ums” and “ahs” must, of course, be excised, since they don’t add anything to the subject.

In short, writer’s block doesn’t have to be terrifying. There’s always a way around it, and with a little force of will any writer can see that it isn’t a brick wall so much as a cloth sewn to look like one.

Even good writers have problems writing articles, it is very common. But they eventually find a way to overcome this problem. There are many different ways you can over come writers block. Some have problems thinking of how to start their writing, others have problems in the middle of their writing and some have problems finishing their projects.

Here are some different ways that you can possibly use to overcome this situation. If you have problems writing because there is a lot of noise around you, go to someplace where it’s quiet, like by a stream or even a park., this way you can relax by a nice quiet running stream of water, or just sit in a park and listen to the birds or other creatures of mother nature.

Or maybe you’re the type of person who like to write in the evening, maybe you use writing to relive the stress of your everyday normal life, if this is the case then maybe you could wait till it’s all quiet and everyone has gone to bed , this way you can sit and relax, and be by yourself.

If your on a tight schedule and you HAVE to have your writing project done by a deadline, and you can’t afford to wait for everyone to settle down for the night, find a quiet room and go there, this way you can concentrate on what you have to do and not have people bothering you all the time.

Maybe you’re an outdoors type person who like to camp, you could always get away fro the weekend on a camping trip and also use this time to do your writing where you can be alone, Also there are some sites on the internet where you can go and try to find a way to overcome writers block, such as http://www.contentcreatorz.com

Writer’s Block. It’s the grizzly bear of writing problems, casually pushing over any trees you climb up to try and avoid it.

Sooner or later as a writer you’re going to confronted by a blank page (or these days, screen) and have no idea what to write. It’s frustrating, painful and frightening.   It’s also really no big deal at all.   Saying it never happens doesn’t really help. Certainly there are people who never seem touched by it; they are the exception not the rule. Don’t feel bad if one of your writing buddies says they can write 3000 words without even really trying. The trick is that you can too. There are three main causes, and three easy fixes for writers block. Over the next few days I’ll go into these causes and their cures.      

Cause 1: You’re tired

Just written 6000 words in one hit? Including a hyper intense scene where the protagonist is in mortal danger? It’s midnight, go to bed.

Writer’s Block is most commonly encountered by over worked, stressed out writers trying to force themselves to write brilliant prose. Writing is a lot like lifting weights, your body needs time, and rest, to adapt to the demands being placed on it. You can build up to it. Jumping straight into 2000 word days will cook your brain like a microwave pizza and leave you staring, drooling and crying in front of your laptop.   Being over tired can also obviously come from other things in your life. I spent some time trying to write, working full-time, lifting weights and training for a Mixed Martial Arts fight. I got injured (no one was surprised) and when I went back and looked at what I was writing, very little of it made any sense. I was simply doing far too much and pushing my body and my mind far beyond what I was used too.    

These are fairly obvious, but emotional exhaustion is the one that takes the biggest toll on the writers I know, me included. This cause is particularly bad because of the idea that you need to suffer to write (which is bull puckey by the way). Sitting down to write after having a huge argument with your spouse or a death in the family may give you inspiration to write, but if you’re trying to write a novel (as opposed to writing for catharsis, which is different) then giving yourself some time to process the emotions will give you more inspiration, not less.  

The Fix!

Sleep is the first order of the day (and night) for writers. None of us get enough sleep unless we’re unemployed. Everyone needs differing amounts of sleep, but usually if you’re getting less than 6 hours a night, you will be If you’re having issues with sleeping then take a look at this article posted on Family Doctor, they cover your sleeping environment in more depth than I ever could.   Truth be told though, we all know we need to sleep. If your sleep problems are ongoing, you may need to speak to a doctor. What should you do if you have a short term exhaustion problem and a blank white screen looming in front of you?   You can start with coffee. It certainly won’t help in the long term, but it will boost your mood. Good quality coffee also contains high levels of anti oxidants that can help with your overall stress level. You can also get caffeine pills and energy drinks, but if you can stomach it (and afford it!) then high quality coffee is the best caffeine delivery system you can get.  

After a couple of days of relying on coffee though, it’s going to start losing its effect. If you’re going to be losing sleep, or are under any kind of elevated stress for more than a few days, then it is worth considering taking an adaptogen.

Now, obviously I’m not a doctor, nor a medical practitioner of any kind, so ALL advice in this regard needs to go via your doctor before you take it on board.  

Read that bit again.

Okay. Now, adaptogens are a class of herb that helps your body adapt to stressful situations, such as increased exercise, lack of sleep or…writing deadlines. I have found the best results with a herb called Rhodiola Rosea; however Siberian ginseng and true ginseng are other popular options. These don’t give you a boost in the same way that stimulants do, they just help your body return to a happy baseline (homeostasis for those of you who’ve studied some biology).  

Stay tuned for part two when I look at what to do when you’re not tired, just stuck!

Because the increase in institutional trading has caused an increase in block trades, it is important to consider how block trades influence the market and understand how they are transacted. The increase in block trading by institutions has strained the specialist system because some specialists did not have the capital needed to acquire blocks of 10,000 or 20,000 shares. Also, because of Rule 113, specialists were not allowed to directly contact institutions to offer a block brought by another institution. Therefore, specialists were cut off from the major source of demand for blocks. Block Houses This lack of capital and contacts by specialists on the exchange created a vacuum in block trading that resulted in the development of block houses. Block houses are investment firms (also referred to as upstairs traders because they are away from the exchange floor) that help institutions locate other institutions interested in buying or selling blocks of stock.

A good block house has (1) the capital required to position a large block, (2) the willingness to commit this capital to a block transaction, and (3) contacts among institutions.

Example of a Block Trade: Assume a mutual fund decides to sell 50,000 of its 250,000 shares of Ford Motors. The fund decides to do it through Goldman Sachs (GS), a large block house and lead underwriter for Ford that knows institutions interested in the stock. After being contacted by the fund, the traders at Goldman Sachs contact several institutions that own Ford to see if any of them want to add to their position and to determine their bids.

Assume that the previous sale of Ford on the NYSE was at 35.75 and GS receives commitments from four different institutions for a total of 40,000 shares at an average price of 35.65.  Goldman Sachs returns to the mutual fund and bids 35.50 minus a negotiated commission for the total 50,000 shares. Assuming the fund accepts the bid, Goldman Sachs now owns the block and immediately sells 40,000 shares to the four institutions that made prior commitments. It also “positions” 10,000 shares; that is, it owns the 10,000 shares and must eventually sell them at the best price possible. Because GS is a member of the NYSE, the block will be processed (“crossed”) on the exchange as one transaction of 50,000 shares at 35.50. The specialist on the NYSE might take some of the stock to fill limit orders on the book at prices between 35.50 and 35.75.

For working on this trade, GS receives a negotiated commission, but it has committed almost 5,000 to position the 10,000 shares. The major risk to GS is the possibility of a subsequent price change on the 10,000 shares. If it can sell the 10,000 shares for 35.50 or more, it will just about break even on the position and have the commission as income. If the price of the stock weakens, GS may have to sell the position at 35.25 and take a loss on it of about ,500, offsetting the income from the commission. This example indicates the importance of institutional contacts, capital to position a portion of the block, and willingness to commit that capital to the block trade. Without all three, the transaction would not take place.