More Education

Michael Smerconish wrote an interesting piece in The Philadelphia Inquirer about President Obama's desire for longer school days and years. Other than the image of the Rev. Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich working together - following those two guys would make for the ultimate reality show - Smerconish echoed the thoughts of many of you to Old Wahoo's earlier post on the possibility of a longer school year.

Though he sees merit in some of the idea behind a longer school day, Smerconish points out that his 13-year-old son already has plenty on his plate at school - on the bus by 7, beginning school at 8, cross-country meet in the afternoon and home at 4:45 p.m. That's almost a 10-hour day.

While Smerconish admits that not all children in America are afforded the same opportunities as his son, he suggests that there are different problems that face American education - ones that won't be solved merely by lengthening the school day and year. Efficiency and after-school pursuits (i.e. too much TV and video games) are bigger issues.

"We probably don't use our time in school as efficiently as some countries, so we're not as focused strictly on academic matters. We do a lot of other things in schools that other countries don't do," (the Brooking Institute's Tom) Loveless told me. Foreign overachievers, meanwhile, also dedicate more time outside the classroom to what Loveless called "academic pursuits."