Has anybody else seen this?!

[ninny]

I hated school with a passion manly because i was so bored. I just could not have survived the longer school days. I live in a rural area and it would just be a disaster if it took place here. What happens to after school jobs and sports? I think that instead of having longer hours they should have after school programs instead. If both parents work till late their kids stay after and get help with homework or do a group project. Or if your gpa fell below a certain level you have to stay and do homework with a tutor till its back up. I think that would help a lot. The inner city kids could really use some thing like that. You can't be out doing drugs if your butt is doing homework under a watchful eye. You cut the program the cops drag your butt back. As for year round well I don't think id have a big problem with it if they let the schools pick when they had they breaks. And could give the poor schools (like mine) ac. Nothing like studying history with sweat rolling down your back. Gross!

Edited to say. A shorter summer break would be a good thing

 

[Sunny]

Ok this dont really make sence.

I mean the schools dont have enough money now to run. How are they going to run it all year like that. As it is most schools around here have had to cut a day a week to just survive.

So where is the schools going to be getting funding to run all year round.. HUH

 

[TTs Chicks]

I'd have to hear an actual proposal to decide how I feel. I wouldn't mind the kids having less summer break and more other breaks. I would mind my kids being required to be in school until 6 or 7 especially since I pick them up on my way home (we live 42 miles from school and work) and I get off at 5. I think there is a lot of "I'd like to do . . . . " going around about a lot of things and there is no way they can do all of them. just my opinion

 

[Henrietta23]

I can't say I'm a big fan of MORE school for kids though -- for public school, anyway, they get plenty of the limited curriculum taught. I wouldn't want my kid to endure more of that, unless the extra time would bring back education in music, art, history, and science.

I'm with you there too!

 

[k0xxx]

I heartily agree that something needs to be done for our education system. I doubt that more school is the answer, though. I'd like to see schools go back to teaching History, Civics and English, and less Social Studies, Alternate Lifestyle Choices, and such. But that is just me.

Also, extending the school year would probably have an unintended disastrous affect on a lot of tourism areas. I can see where it would be tough on places like Disney World where those three summer months are the largest portion of their business. Smaller tourist venues would probably have trouble staffing if the vacation periods were reduced or broken into smaller segments.

 

[Jamsoundsgood]

I actually homeschool, and one of the reasons, of many, is so we could do it year round. We do expect a lot from our kids when it comes to helping around our house. Right now is harvest time, even on our small acreage. We need their help. It's nice to be able to do school in the morning and have them come out and pick apples with me in the afternoon, or chase the baby. Or just play outside while it's still daylight, which they couldn't do last year when they went to public school. I can see the benefit of keeping the schools open and providing a safe, supervised place. But let's face it, if the public school system is used as a day care provider it could really be called the "nanny state" and that just feeds the talk show hosts. The Federal Government does not have a very good track record of mandating improvements for our public schools. They are legally a local responsibility. Le it stay that way.

 

[Wildsky]

I think kids have enough school already. Longer days would be hell for them, no CHILD time to play or do silly kid stuff. My kids get out of school at 3:30 and I already think thats too long a day for them.

They don't need quantity, they need quality.

In CA there were over 30 kids in my son's class, out here in the sticks, there are perhaps 10 kids in each class, they get so much more attention and learning done.

 

[deb1]

Kids in the U.S. spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests Singapore (903), Taiwan (1,050), Japan (1,005) and Hong Kong (1,013). That is despite the fact that Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong have longer school years (190 to 201 days) than does the U.S. (180 days).


How do the Asian countries have longer school years but shorter hours in class? Do they get out earlier then our schools?

I am glad that someone is actually trying to come up with a solution to our school system but I am not certain if longer hours is the answer. We need to look more closer at HOW these schools teach and incoporate some of their methods.

 

[mrbstephens]

Obama is a great man. I support him whole-heartedly with every issue except for this one. Children should be aloud to be children for as long as possible.

 

[me&thegals]

Like healthcare, SOMEthing needs to be done. Globalization is possible because of well-educated people in other countries. If you don't like globalization, we should look at why our students don't do as well as though in other parts of the world. If you DO like globalization, we should look at how our students can prosper in new industries in America.

I would not want longer school days. I don't know--maybe longer periods with each subject studied less freqeuntly, but longer, each week?

As I already mentioned, there is SO MUCH time wasted each year in reviewing what was forgotten over each summer.

I say, don't reinvent the wheel. See how other countries with the best scores are teaching their students. I suspect--as in so many other things--it might be that education is revered in their culture far more than it is here. I mean, really. Here, the really smart kids are considered nerds.