The noisy setting of a classroom can be detrimental to a high school student’s ability to learn efficiently. The combination of peer conversations and friends wanting to start conversations instead of accomplishing assignments can be a huge distraction for the majority of students.
One of the key contributors to students lacking the ability to avoid these distractions, is the fact that a large majority of these students have missing work and are failing classes.
From when they are born to their first day of education, they have always had a guardian guiding them on the right track. These issues combined have created a large issue in student education.
However, the administration at McHenry Community High School have found a potential solution to this problem with the implementation of flexing.
In 2021, following the spread of COVID-19 across the globe, MCHS administrators came up with an idea that would help students avoid catching the virus. This idea was “Blended” learning. This style of learning showed not only positive results from a health perspective, but also results that showed to be positive from a learning perspective as well.
As of 2025, Blended learning and flexing is still in place and students, along with teachers, seem to love this style of learning for many reasons.
One of the reasons why flexing has been so beneficial to students is the fact that they now have more of an opportunity to learn at their own pace, using any potential strategies they may use at home that benefit their ability to process, understand and analyze information.
An issue that has surrounded in-class learning has been the stress that is added on to students when they are stuck in a classroom. They feel as if they cannot learn in the ways that make them the most successful because they have limitations in the classroom.
Sophomore Filippo Fiore had some positive words to say about this style of learning.
“I love it,” Fiore states. “I just like that I have a way to get out of a distracting classroom.”
A classroom can feel suffocating for students if the teacher does not keep the students involved. Long lectures and uninteresting topics can cause students to dread coming to school on a day-to-day basis.
However, with the implementation of flexing into MCHS curriculums, students do not have to worry about the things they used to dread in a classroom. MCHS students now have the freedom to get out of the classroom and find settings around the school that will help them learn effectively.
Health and physical education teacher Theodora Davis explains the benefits she sees in students being allowed to leave the classroom and learn on their own.
“There has been a huge increase in the amount of work getting turned in,” Davis explains.
“And the grades are better because it’s a huge incentive for kids because they really want to do it. It’s tremendous, actually.”
A point that gets brought up frequently when talking about the true benefits of flexing is how students who lack a sense of focus would have trouble learning without a teacher nudging them along. This is a great point.
However, to become “Flex Certified,” students have to fill out an application form. Students who feel they would work better in the classroom can simply choose to not fill out the form. This gives students the opportunity to make personal choices that can have positive impacts on their individual ability to learn.
Students can choose how they want to learn and teachers are given the opportunity to plan ahead for future lessons during class periods. It’s truly a “win-win.”
Now, imagine that same noisy classroom that makes it impossible for you to learn. That same setting that makes you dread going to school every day can now be avoided.
Flexing has given students endless possibilities to learn class material in the way that best suits them, whether it’s learning at a pace that best suits them or escaping distracting classroom behaviors.
The results shown through flexing, such as an increase in student performance, have shown MCHS administration that they have made the right decision. It’s only a matter of time before schools across McHenry County begin to adopt this style of learning.