"Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here," Duncan told the AP. "I want to just level the playing field."
My first reaction was to dismiss this out of hand. I don't want to curtail my kids' summer vacation, and I have a feeling this is going to be the overwhelming view.
That said, there are some intriguing aspects of the program, and the benefits to less advantaged children would be significant. In addition, experts believe even a 10-minute per day increase in math class would provide big gains.
Still, the costs would be huge, and with the ongoing health-care debate, I can only imagine the education debate would also prove heated with more emotion-based arguments (such as my initial reaction) than actual reflection and thought.
What do you think? Can a longer school year and day help? What will be the effects for families, from the low-income to the well-to-do?
I'm interested to know what you think.
We just talked about this this morning with the kids. They were unanimous in voting against it.
ReplyDeleteI usually don't agree with them, but I do on this one. My feelings are mostly selfish. I don't want my kids gone any longer than they already are.
I also think that learning isn't limited to the classroom, but it's being discussed as though it is. We read, learn math, history, geography and science (etc) at home too. Too much time in one environment (school) turns the learning process negative. They won't sit still. They will start to look at school as a chore.
Another point that needs to be made is this ... whatever test scores they're going by I don't care. Take this from someone who grew up in another country ... America is the greatest country in the world. Americans need to hear that sometimes.
The education system is working. American kids can compete with any nation's children. The creativity, drive and competitiveness of Americans is never measured in these tests. It reminds me of the sports where athletes' 40-yard time is measured but not their ability to play the game.
President Obama is a product of our system. He's doing well. I realize that lower-income families would probably gain from longer school days. But I think the cons outweigh the pros in this case. Kids need a well-rounded life to learn, not more time in school. If our kids aren't doing well in school, it's up to the schools and families to do a better job in coordination.
Thanks for all the comments here and on facebook. Here's a link to some of the comments on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/john.hetzler?ref=nf
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