Adding more time in school is never a popular idea with students. Children’s main concern when the idea is mentioned is that it will reduce the amount of free and hangout time they have. Recently, there has been talk at the national level of trying to increase the amount of time children spend in school by increasing the hours and changing the school year to be year round.
President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have both made public statements and have said in interviews that in this time children need more time in the classroom. They have several reasons for suggesting this change. Primarily, “Obama and Duncan say kids in the United States need more school because kids in other nations have more school” (Contreras). They often quote reports that say that American students are doing being outscored on math and science tests by students in other countries such as Japan and Taiwan. This puts children at a disadvantage in the global economy. This point also echoes the report in A Nation At Risk.
Another reason they support adding more time to school days is it gives children a safe place to go after school. Since parents work the time between when the school day ends and when parent supervision is available is a period where kids tend to get in trouble. Students need more protection and a place with support and resources not found in other parts of the community. Duncan would like to make schools the center of communities and the best way to do that is to make it more inclusive and open more.
Also, making schools year round is beneficial for kids, especially those from lower socioeconomic classes. Poor children do not have the same availability of resources as children in higher economic classes, do not have the opportunity to be in camps, and are often left alone. These factors often contribute to crime that Duncan and Obama think could partially be diverted by children spending more time in schools with the proper resources and support.
There have been several schools and programs that implemented longer or year round schooling. Schools with such programs tend to have test scores increase. This could be because teachers are able to spend more time with areas students are struggling in and add more extra material to supplement the curriculum.
One downside is that it is very expensive to implement. The funding is hard to come by, but the results are said to be worth it. Having students have more class time is beneficial is several ways such as improved test scores, less crime, and more extra knowledge is learned.
Article: More school: Obama would curtail summer vacation
PBS News Hour Year Round Schooling
Back to School Already? Year Round Programs in Full Swing
Back to School Already?- Response
ReplyDeleteAccording to Arne Duncan, the Education Secretary of the United States, most children are not working in an agrarian economy anymore. Our school calendar was based on the children having to work in the fields in the summer for their families. This is simply not the case anymore. It would make sense to send children to school all year round; however, is year-round schooling the solution to all of our education problems in the United States?
Miriam Hughy-Guy, the Barcroft Elementary Principle, claims that year round schooling schedule will be considered the “21st century calendar,” compared to the traditional calendar. Year round schooling would definitely help students keep their skills sharp. I remember going back to school after a long summer break and forgetting a multitude of math skills. My parents tried to review some math with me during the summer, but I always had a slow start in the beginning of the year.
If we had year round schooling, teachers would not have to spend the first month of school reviewing what teachers taught the year before. Students would probably progress faster, because students would be honing their skills year round.
Although students would not need to revert back to old lessons in order to move forward, I think many students and teachers will be worn out by the end of the year. If our school system switches over to this type of calendar, I think it is necessary to have more vacation breaks. These breaks will give the students and the teachers time to relax and come back fresh to continue their lessons. These breaks, however, will not be the same length as a summer break. They could be around one week long every one to two months.
Children with a low a socioeconomic background would also largely benefit from this new calendar. While most rich students are away at summer camp, poor students are more likely to get in more trouble. School will give these students a safe environment and will keep the students occupied. These students will have the opportunity to increase their test scores and knowledge in summer while their parents are busy at work.
In my high school, instead of year round schooling, we always had summer work to keep our minds active in the summer. Our math classes would give us a math packet to prepare us for the following year. Our language arts program would give us several books to read and critical reading exercises. Although most people saved these activities until the end of the summer, in theory, they would have helped the students. If we implemented some classes in the summer and gave our students some review sheets, I think our school system would benefit immensely.
This topic is one that really caught my attention. The extension of the school year or making school year round is something that has been discussed and asked for a long time. I remember writing a research paper on the topic in middle school. Obviously as a young student I was completely against the idea of having school all year round, and, despite the fact that I see some positive aspects of the idea, I continue to feel it is not entirely necessary and beneficial.
ReplyDeleteThe video post is what seemed to strike me the most and refresh my memory as to why I was against the idea. For instance, often times both students and teachers need that summer break. Both come back refreshed and ready to start learning after the 2 or 3-month break from school and the school environment. Students and teachers both get very worn out and by the time May and June role around a break is necessary. This break is also the time to spend with family and travel and have new experiences. The weather is nice and it is a time for people of all ages to spend time outside and take in the fresh air instead of being cooped up inside for an extra few months out of the year.
In addition, in reference to the fact that many children or their parents cannot afford camp, I have heard of a number of programs and camps that offer scholarships or will make exceptions for those families that cannot afford camp. There are also often other programs and neighborhood groups for children to attend so they are not left alone or on the streets for extended periods of time.
Keeping students out of trouble or off the streets, however, does not even seem to be the main focus or purpose of extended schooling; instead, it is just an added plus. A lot of the focus seems to be on raising test scores. It seems almost, for lack of a better word, hypocritical. We would be keeping students and teachers away from new experiences and traveling and socializing in order to simply raise the level of test scores? That sounds ridiculous to me, but seems to be why they stopped the program in Miami- Dade and how they are judging the success of the program overall.
Thus, I do not feel extending the duration of the school year is beneficial to anyone and is merely a waste of money and funding that could be going to other programs that expand the horizons of students and let them have a break from school and have new and tasteful experiences and encounters because school and the classroom is not the only way or place people learn.