Longer School Days and Shorter Summers to Improve Standards
Published September 29, 2009 @ 07:52PM PT
If students aren't learning enough in school, perhaps just giving them more school-time is the way to improve things. Some may say more resources, smaller class sizes, or quite simply a better quality education is the best way to go, but longer longer school days and longer school years are likely to be one of the cornerstones of this administration's education reform policy. Arne Duncan supports longer school days with shorter summer breaks. He explains, "our school calendar's based on a 19th century agrarian economy. I'm sure there weren't too many kids in Philadelphia working in their parents' fields this summer."
Obama might be remembered as the President who stole summer, but the administration believes we need to better keep up with China and India, who offer kids more time in school. Here, quantity is beating quality.
[Photo credit: senor_codo]
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
StumbleUpon
EmailRelated Posts
-
Rules for Huge "Race to the Top" Education Grants Released
-
In Education Reform We See The Real Change That Was Promised
-
$3 Trillion Of Reasons to Be Pessismistic, One Reason to be Optimistic
Comments (3)
Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.
Author
-
Mike Smith is associate editor at Change.org. Email: mike@change.org
When are we going to stop comparing ourselves to students in other countries? Our students are being educated in OUR country, one in which the education system that I teach in is outstanding and effective. I think the real issue here is not what is taught in class, how long it is taught, how many days are used up for "review," but the issue of student responsibility and accountability. Educators can teach content, conduct skill and drill, create assessments requiring critical thinking, conduct reviews for quizzes and tests (before school, during the class periods, and after school), help each individual learn skills and content in a way that best matches his/her learning style and ability, and the list goes on. "At the end of the day" it is the student that must learn the information. Teachers cannot "learn" for the students. We support students, create fabulous lessons and projects, analyze data from a student's entire school career worth of standardized tests, establish incentive programs for student achievement, honor those who do well, create support systems for those who struggle, and do virually everything under the sun to HELP KIDS LEARN! We don't "sign up" for teaching, as was stated on CNN by someone who supports longer school days. Educators are professionals who obtained their degrees by going to colleges and or universities. Educators must renew their licenses by taking courses that help keep us all up to date on current teaching strategies. Educators have degrees beyond a Bachelor's Degree, and many have even earned their Ph.D. and continue to teach in the classroom because it is what they have a passion for! We teach kids HOW to learn, but CANNOT LEARN FOR THEM. Longer days, shorter summers? Can one ride the same horse longer, giving it less rest, and expect it to do more? Really!
Posted by Gina Dillingham on 09/30/2009 @ 09:06AM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
The other day my son, an 8th grader commented that education would by focusing on quality, not quantity (longer school years). And I agree. When the current administration is making recommendations like this, I think they have a skewered vision of what a school day is like, that every child is getting the same experience that the President's girls are. I don't see what is to be gained by year round schooling, when it would be just more of the same, which unfortunately in my son's school, means sitting around doing not much, watching "Numbers" to learn "advanced math", learning about verbs (in 8th grade!). I wish more teachers were as motivated as the previous poster, but unfortunately they are not, and longer school years would not help motivation, on the teachers' or students' part. Education reform needs to look at more than standardized test scores, and look at student experience.
Posted by Kristina Anderson on 12/15/2009 @ 12:03PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.
I believe that there will be a lot of support for Obama's plan for reasons that have nothing to do with education.
I am a single mom. I work and attend college and live in poverty in a poverty stricken neighborhood. I cannot take even one week off work during the summer.
I would rather my son be in school (whether he learns anything or not) than be home alone or playing outside in our neighborhood. Even signing him up for summer programs means that he is using public transportation by himself (no programs in our area are more than 8 hours a day so he must either get there or home while I am working) and being supervised by people much less qualified than teachers.
When Kristina says that Obama may have a skewed vision of what a school day is like I would counter that perhaps Kristina has a skewed vision of what summer vacation is like for poor kids. Most that I know are home alone and forbidden to leave the house because their neighborhoods are too dangerous. I have wonderful memories of summer vacation from my childhood but I grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood where all (I really do mean ALL) the moms were "stay at home moms" and there were no gangs or meth addicts to worry about. I wish I were able to provide the same for my son but alas, I cannot.
On a brighter note and in response to Arne Duncan saying that not too many kids work in the summer: this summer my 14 year old son was able to work full-time during the summer for Urban Corps because Obama lowered the minimum age requirement. My son loved the experience and the money and he is proud of the nature center that he helped build. I hope that next summer he will be able to same. Summer work is an education that can benefit everyone - kids and communities alike.
Posted by Julie Swigart on 12/28/2009 @ 04:07PM PT
You must be signed in to report content.