Summer is DOOMED!!!!

Before I accept a proposal for longer hours in school, I am going to have to see a proposal for making school less boring and more effective. Why are so many administrative personnel required? I want more classes, more class rooms, and more targeted course work. Right now, we spend more than their fair share on kids who can't, and way too little on kids who can.

In Tennessee, a bright child is classified as "special needs" right along with a "challenged" child who gets a full time attendant. This is nuts.

I've wondered what's really behind the "Save Our Summers" group.
Is it really a front for cheap child labor for businesses?
Is it a "that's how we've always done it", "good enough for granny, good enough for me" bunch of Luddites?

I totally agree with needs for reforms to our educational system, including finally funding the IDEA Act, currently an unfunded mandate that drains resources away from other needs. And fast tracking our best and brightest is never a bad idea, not dumbing down to the lowest common denominator.

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

At this time, I see no need to extend school hours or days. Could this just be another method to provide babysitters for young people?

kids are in school too long.
They should go 4 hours a day year round with four two week breaks.

"I think our school day is too short, our week is too short, our year is too short," he said.

It never fails. A President-elect starts out with high expectations...until his cabinet members start talking.

If there are true educational advantages to lengthening the day, week, and year, that's one thing. If those advantages only benefit a school system like Chicago's, that's another.

I may be wrong, but I believe Chicago also implemented, or tried to implement adding a fifth year to high school to better prepare high school graduates for college.

Let's face it, this is starting off on the wrong foot when there is already a substantial amount of fear that the new Administration is only going to promote socialist ideas. This will play directly into those fears with good reason.

And if there's anybody out there who thinks they know how teachers are going to keep kids "on task" for a longer period of time during the day, during a longer week, for a larger part of the year, I'd really like to hear his/her plan.

After all, most working adults get two days off a week now; we're going to make kids work six days a week?????

If I'm not mistaken, studies have shown that kids retain information better if they go to school year round (a lot of material apparently drifts away during summer break).

I agree, however, with those who said that the extra time would have to be well spent.

Is there a line that the sixth day crosses that make Saturday school a fundamental threat to our historic way of life?

Unions worked for a 40 hr work week...but you're arguing that's too short for kids? And as far as the longer day, week, and year, I agree it may be helpful in regions where adequate child care at home is not available.

But, if you don't see the connection with the arguments that students need to spend more time in government care, and the fear that the government is trying to take over the raising of children, then you're not paying attention.

First, I am not opposed to year round school understanding that there are still significant breaks spread throughout. However, I also think that an extended summer vacation gives children social development opportunities which are equally as important as academic development.

Second, I think the Save Our Summers people are nuts if they believe that a student can take a winter vacation for a couple of weeks then come back to take exams and perform as well as if they took the exams before the break. That would simply result in the students having to study over the break which defeats the purpose of a "break."

So, my question "Who will determine your child's morals and outlook on life?" Already our children spend vast amounts of time with people who may not hold our same values. Their moral, personal, religious and political views do influence our children. So by increasing the time spent in the government controlled education machine, we also increase the opportunity for party policy to seep into the minds of the future generations who will then create policy to affect future generations. As an example, think about how the random search policy may later work its way into our adult laws as today's children move into the legislative system.

I hope that should we increase the amount of time children spend in the school system that we also increase the opportunities for parents and other community members to interact with our children. Please let us create an open education system that encourages community influence and views.

Doug McCaughan
(link...)

If this is the direction Obamma is leading the nation then he's lost my support, and I had high hopes for him.

He seems to be talking up "community schools," and says we presently under-utilize our school facilities and resources. He wants to make schools the hubs of their communities again, opening them up for preschool and afterschool programs, yeah, but for ELL instruction and GED prep and use by community groups, too.

I have no problem with making schools the center of the community, literally and figuratively, by promoting education as key to success, civility, and even as the underlying basis for such extraordinary efforts yesterday in New York City.

If that's what Duncan is aiming for he just could've said it a little better, instead of waving the red blanket in front of the bull so soon.

I am not against after school activities, or Saturday activities, where they would be beneficial.

The fact is that not all communities, neighborhoods, or areas have the same community resources that others have.

They don't have the infrastructure like parks, churches with activity centers, and other areas where kids, at the very least, can learn to socialize, and learn the rules of life.

Or they don't have the resources like transportation and money to get their kids into groups, camps, or places, where most of these activities, organized and unorganized, tend to take place.

Schools are what almost all communities have as a central location that have the ability to serve groups of people. In that sense, after school or Saturday programs make perfect sense.

Year round schooling so kids can retain information for the exams is, I believe, frought with problems.

First, I don't recall forgetting how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, or write a sentence (although that skill sometimes seems absent here) over my summer vacations. If we're aiming for better exam scores and that's all, then I think we need to reconsider our educational objectives and goals.

If we're trying to teach skills and abilities that will be used constantly, consistently, and correctly and practiced throughout a person's life then I don't think year around schooling does that much for the child, and as a result, the adult. We need to figure out what our real goals and intentions are.

Kids should be in school for half a day. We should be talking about reducing the time a student spends in a classroom in a given day. We should also be talking about reducing the time we work from 8 hours to 6 hours a day.

The current system is a drain on the human spirit. We don't have enough time to explore our human potential.

Some where free play seems to have stopped. We used to spend summers riding bikes and playing in the yard and now its a strange site to see a group of kids on bikes. At the same time kids aren't prepared for college in Tn. like they should be. Maybe have better teaching in the time we already use--Tn. is already set to have more math and science, instead of longer and more school days.

How can one improve NCLB? I suggest the only recourse is to eliminate it? Another unfunded mandate upon public schools (notice private schools are given a presumed passing grade, no testing required) that if brought to it's logical conclusion would "fail" every single public school in the nation. Ratcheting laws, however well intentioned, are poor laws as they inevitably bring about undesirable consequences.

I totally agree with well funded public schools, lower classroom sizes, and attractive salaries for professionals who choose to teach. I do not agree that a "one size fits all" grading of teachers works. What of the teacher who has 30 plus students per class and many of these are special needs IDEA kids? Should they be held accountable to the same bar as a teacher of only gifted and exceptional kids with class sizes of 15 or fewer students and no IDEA children? I think not.

NCLB, in it's present state cannot be fixed, only abolished.

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

Saturday is generally the day that International students spend studying their native language, culture and history so that they can immerse back into their culture when they return to their country.