How much time should children spend in school?

[alaskaguy]

Many educators want the school day lengthened.

Do you agree that it should be lengthened?

Link:
Education Week: Consensus on Learning Time Builds

 

[baller1]

no no no

 

[TykeClone]

I tell the kids that I sometimes spend 10 or 12 hours per day working. If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for them. :wink:

 

[acrozier22]

Teacher unions will never allow it.

 

[Cyclone62]

Oh yea, all those students that are already disconnected from learning will really be engaged enough that extra hour!

/sarcasm

 

[superfan]

Increasing the quantity of educational time is nowhere near as effective as increasing the quality of educational time.

 

[Irresponsible]

I'm done with school (at least the high school variety) so I say keep them 16 hours/day. It's my duty as someone who had to walk three miles to school--up hill both ways--to tell our current students how easy they've got it.

I used to love class evaluations on the final day. Since I was done with the class (except for thermodynamics. I liked that one so much I took it twice.), I'd always say they needed more homework, more quizzes, more reading, harder tests, etc. Yup, that's the kind of guy I am.

 

[rbrook]

I say 24/7. See ya when you graduate. :wink:

 

[Bubbahotep]

Year round school, extra days off at quarter breaks, but keep them in an extra 40 days.

 

[BryceC]

When I think back to my time in school, I remember heaps of wasted time. I agree with the earlier poster that said it should be a quality and not quantity issue.

 

[dosry5]

When I think back to my time in school, I remember heaps of wasted time. I agree with the earlier poster that said it should be a quality and not quantity issue.

I agree too that it should be quality over quantity. But how do you improve the quality? Teacher's unions won't allow that. Not that they're against a quality education---but they certainly aren't for performance based incentives. I'd love to have a job where I'm not judged on my performance, where I have summers off, where it'd be really, really hard to lose my job.:yes:

 

[brianhos]

Teacher unions will never allow it.

That would be a tough fight.

 

[Bewilderme]

I think that if anything, class lengths should be extended. If a school now has eight hours in a day, it would be better to have four hours that are double the normal period. Every other day the schedule would alternate. In my experience, class periods are too long to get much learning done.

 

[erikbj]

I think the year round schooling is better, with short more intense days.....no more Art class - more math and science. If you want to paint, do it at home.

 

[dpo4isu]

I agree too that it should be quality over quantity. But how do you improve the quality? Teacher's unions won't allow that. Not that they're against a quality education---but they certainly aren't for performance based incentives. I'd love to have a job where I'm not judged on my performance, where I have summers off, where it'd be really, really hard to lose my job.:yes:

As a teacher, I really don't disagree with anything you say here. There are certainly teachers out there that shouldn't be teaching but still manage to keep their job. My only concern about performance based incentive is how you measure the performance. If you judge a teacher's worth strictly on student test scores, then you raise an issue regarding quality of students in classes. If I have a class that has a number of special needs students in it compare to another class that has a number of talented and gifted students, I am going to be a little upset because I don't have as good a chance as the other teacher of meeting performance benchmarks. I'm all for incentive pay, just explain to me how it is going to work without causing a riot among the teaching staff every time class schedules are issued.

Note: I am a math teacher so disregard any spelling or grammer errors. :smile:

 

[dosry5]

As a teacher, I really don't disagree with anything you say here. There are certainly teachers out there that shouldn't be teaching but still manage to keep their job. My only concern about performance based incentive is how you measure the performance. If you judge a teacher's worth strictly on student test scores, then you raise an issue regarding quality of students in classes. If I have a class that has a number of special needs students in it compare to another class that has a number of talented and gifted students, I am going to be a little upset because I don't have as good a chance as the other teacher of meeting performance benchmarks. I'm all for incentive pay, just explain to me how it is going to work without causing a riot among the teaching staff every time class schedules are issued.

Note: I am a math teacher so disregard any spelling or grammer errors. :smile:

I'm glad I didn't offend you---seems like most of the time that even hinting at the suggestion that teaching is not the world's hardest and most underpaid profession will bring out the fighting mad teacher people. I think there are great teachers out there, but just like in every profession you have those who are in it just for certain benefits.

I wouldn't have an answer on how to make performance based pay work---not an exact one. But at my job, my pay and evaluation is based upon performance of others. My job supports other functions, and how those other functions do as a business unit affects may pay raise each year. What I do for a living--my job and who I support---dictates how much that other unit's performance affects my grading. Shouldn't have to be any different in your scenario---obviously you wouldn't expect the same scores on standardized tests from a special needs class that you would from a talented and gifted class. The business world is able to set individual and differing standards and I would think we could find some way to do it in the education world too. It wouldn't always be fair---but it ain't over here either. We'd lose lots of teachers, I'm sure---but can argue that they should be teaching in the first place then? Food for thought.

 

[BryceC]

I think the year round schooling is better, with short more intense days.....no more Art class - more math and science. If you want to paint, do it at home.

I agree with this as well, but this would never go over with parents, many of whom use school as cheap daycare.

 

[isucyfan]

I agree with this as well, but this would never go over with parents, many of whom use school as cheap daycare.

My boys go to a year-round school. They have the same number of schooldays as the rest of the district, but their breaks are spread out. During one of the 3-week breaks over the course of the year they have what is called "Intersession", where struggling students are required to attend. Other students can optionally attend, at a cost of $20. Intersession runs for two weeks of the three week break.

So, parents can only have to find childcare for one week of the break.

 

[BryceC]

I think that would be better in the long haul iccyfan - numerous studies have shown that kids forget a lot of material over the summer. I don't think there would be too much trouble with switching the breaks, but if kids had shorter schooldays that would never go over.

 

[isucyfan]

I think that would be better in the long haul iccyfan - numerous studies have shown that kids forget a lot of material over the summer. I don't think there would be too much trouble with switching the breaks, but if kids had shorter schooldays that would never go over.

Yep, and the studies especially show that the long summer retention affects lower income students the most.

We really like the schedule. They still get all of August off, and they fall right back into the "routine" with minimal problems.