School Days, School Years
The Obama administration has been making noises about a longer school year, and the Associated Press takes the opportunity to examine whether American students need to spend more time in class. We can't say whether or not that will improve student achievement, but we can say it goes to one of American parents' big concerns about their children.
The president called on school systems to hold longer school days and extend school into the summer as well. It's not a new idea, and students in many countries have longer school years than Americans (although American students have a longer school day than many).
When we examined parents' attitudes about out of school time, however, academics proved to be only part of the picture. The summer months proved to be the most difficult time for parents to find things for their kids to do, and low-income and minority parents were even more worried about this. Low-income and minority parents were also more interested in academics during summer and after-school work than other parents.
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If the government is looking for day care longer school days is not an option. Some studnets already spend more time in schools than at home. In there may lay the real problem. This is a nation of children bring up children. These homes are in need of guidance, (in ways the government may not even phantom). For example they need to understand and learn the meaning of self respect. Where is their guidance as far as morality, for example, the language young individual use in public to each other or to strangers inflicts a degrading blow to every individual.
Putting the burden of it all on teachers is and would be unconscionable. Parents must be held accountable of and for their children.
When a student is difficult for any reason, a teacher is held accountable. Was the counselor informed? Was the Principal informed? Were the parents contact? Was the student spoken to and a strategy to assist him/her agreed on? Where are the anocdotals? Yet this child who has been placed in an incorrect setting could had benefited from one-on-one assistance that couldn't be provided becuse of budget cuts or the less restricted environment. This child through possibly no fault of his/her own has also prevented other students from the benefit of an education. Schools are not the only thing our young are in need of.
Longer school days is not and cannot become a plausible option for anyone in America. Parents like their kids and love their kids. Many Parents save up vacation time from work just to be able to go on summer vacations. And what about other things. I have a friend that competes in a national fine arts competition every summer and it lasts 2 weeks long and is held in different parts of the country. How is she supposed to keep her grades up and stay in honor society and do music that she loves? Extending the school year will just put more stress on an already stressed generation. Kids these days have more to worry about than most people did as kids. They have to worry about whether they are skinny enough or pretty enough and guys have to worry about if they have too much fat or not enough muscle. These may not seem like big concerns to most people but they are big onces in all actuality. If you don't have good self esteem when you are young then it can cause you to develope much more things such as depression and other psychological mishaps that could have been prevented.
Longer school days??? No Sir. We won't have it. Kids are way more active and so much stuff to do outside of school that longer school days would break them. Kids spend anywhere aound 8 hours a day at school and that is 1/3 of the day. They need anouther minimum of 8 hours of sleep. They need about an hour and a half for meals and sometimes anywhere from 1 to 3 hours of homework. That there takes up well over 2/3 of their day. They also need time to do their chores and to play. All work and no play makes for an unhappy person. They need time to spend with family and just time to relax. Many parents only get to really see their kids during the few hours before bedtime and that shouldn't be the case. If anything he should shorten the school day and give kids time to be kids!!!!!!!
I beleive that extending the school day and the school year would benefit the children and the parents. School is meant for educating children but also as a means of socialization and for some..chld care. Perhaps this would be a way for the U.S to catch up to other countires educationally. Minority ans single parents would benefit as they would be able to work and not have to pay for child care or they would not have to quit q job to provide child care. This would leesn the burden on welfare programs. Youth sometimes fall in with the qwrong crowd, are bored at home during the summer because working parents cabn't always afford to provide activites for them to participate ih.
Lengthening the school year would be absolutely beneficial and as the parent of three school age children I would have to say I support the Obama administrations push.
I believe that if the days are longer for children, they will become less interested in school and the number of graduates attending college will decrease. I do think that children spend enough time in school. There are some instances where the time needs to be extended. But for the most part, children are at school long enough to keep their interest. hcarrell
A number of bonuses that come with an extended school year have been ignored in this conversation. A child's education, whether they come from a home with good parenting or not, should include study of life skills and a variety of creative outlets. Though the curriculums brought about by the No Child Left Behind, which I hear miss the mission of the policy by a great deal, are in part to blame for our school's lack of time to truly have a whole, well-rounded education, extending the school year would along with correcting the curriculum would be of great benefit.
Our children need to be not only learning math, english skills, and science, but they need to be having conversations and interactions with their peers and role model teachers regarding drugs, violence, self-respect, being assertive, handling anger, coping with difficult situations. They need to learn and get as much hands on practice with physical activity, wellness eduction, and nutrition so that it is easier for them to embrace proper practices in the real world, sometimes needing to break the hard cycle set by generations of their families. They need to be exposed to music and art of all forms. They need to start learning about society and history so they can critically think about these things as adults, how our various industries work and learn about the issues that plague our country. If we want leaders that can fix our broken nation, we need to provide our kids with the knowledge and tools (their ability to critically think) and that takes a whole lot more than a kid that gets A's in math, english, and science.
Teachers on an extended year cycle can rotate with other teachers. Whoever said it has to be one teacher for one class all year long? Teachers can take breaks for family, higher education, whatever. Families will have one month summer break, a fall break, christmas break and spring break, and I'm sure we're all capable of planning for vacations any time that time is available! Camps will readily reschedule their timelines for the school system--where else are they gonna get their money if not from you? And perhaps, this is a creative bit, schools can provide credit for educational trips and endeavors if papers are written or even a proper blog is kept by the student about their experience and what they are learning? Whoa.
The argument that extended year is bad because it is JUST a daycare for parents who can be accountable to raise their children the right way is just plain ignorant. Is it true that families who live in poverty would greatly benefit from the extended school year, yes. But so would all of our kids. Its just that people in poverty, especially, have little life-skills and they themselves have low education. You send kids home for 2 1/2 months for the summer and they will relapse at a greater rate than kids whose parents provide and promote learning/educational activities at home. Poor kids wont be going on vacation to see the grand canyon or yellowstone national park. Poor kids wont be going to nice camps where their education, social skills, and creativity are prompted to flourish. Poor kids will sit at home, often unattended (or poorly attended), eating poor diets (in comparison to the school menu--which is not all that great as we now know), and getting into trouble with parents who are trouble makers or the older kids down the street who've already learned about drugs, sex, whatever. The truth is, the poverty gap is getting bigger and the impovershed population is increasing as well. The problems of the poor (drugs and need to suffice on public benefits, and poor decision making) are our problem because they are spreading everywhere and will someday reach your neighborhood/community if the nation does not invest in these kids to better help them stop the poverty cycle.
Lastly, the fear mongering Fox network claims damage to the economy with the extended year schedule. What??? Travels and spending will be just as much in existence as it is now, plus more parents will be able to work more and spend more. Hello?! Also, I know this is hard for Fox and conservatives alike (sorry) but make some sacrifice, forget your fears, and make an investment that will pay off in the future for this country and your family. Brighter minds will be forged by creative and high quality curriculums and an extended school year can bring us back to being the innovative and economic leader of the free world.
"He was applauded for his breadth of knowledge regarding the public education system in the U.S. He cited that one-third of the 13- and 14-year-olds in our country cannot read at an appropriate level for their age, and that the eighth grade curriculum is two years behind competing nations. He says the part of the problem is our “race to the bottom” mindset, wherein states are comfortable with lower standards for tui laptop students.
Obama and his Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are truly advocates for a superior education system than that we’ve previously and currently known. It’s imperative that states use the stimulus package money to rebuild curriculum, increase teacher pay, improve school conditions, offer newer technologies to students and even extend the school year to ensure that this generation can not only keep up with their international peers, but even surpass them in the professional environment of the coming decades."
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