More school? Obama could trim summer break

[Ladywriter 7,783]

President, education chief want to lengthen days, keep schools open later

WASHINGTON - Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way.Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe.

"Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let kids in on weekends so they have a safe place to go.

"Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

yay school

[Dubird 6,815]

Yeah I saw that, and I honestly don't think it'll help signifigantly. It's not the amount of time you spend in school, it's the quality of the education. Concentrate on that instead of just saying "spend more time in school". That' make the better difference.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Not like forcing students to spend more time in school is going to benefit them any. As Dubie said it's the quality of the education that determines how much a student retains. All it's going to do is force kids to be even more miserable and in the end be a detriment to their education. We don't exactly live in a society, like Japan for example, that requires us to be so stringent and follow certain social norms. My 2 cents, plus it really doesn't matter to me. I'm done with school outside of college and each college sets their own standard for how many days your in school.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Part of the problem w/ education is the pace teachers must move at to cover the required curriculum. Retention of information can be difficult for kids flying through chapters thus little Billy isn't really learning jack shit. Teachers move on before everyone in class gets it right, they have to, they have a time limit. A rushed education is a poor quality education.

Lotsa dumb Billies have made their way through school thanks to the schedule and no child left behind. Dumb Billies aren't going to help our economy or environment. Dumb Billies are fodder for the military and corporations.

I'm all for pushing the start and finish of the school day back a few hours too.

This coming from a mom w 2 in hs. Not only was I schooled via public education my kids are too.

[Dubird 6,815]

Then how is it that American kids send, on average, the same amount of time in the classroom as many other developed nations, yet our kids can't compete with other countries? I'm not saying longer school time is a bad idea, but it's not going to fix the problem by itself. A more productive way is to overhaul the US standards of education. That may include being in school for more hours, but would also rework how we teach our kids and what they need to know to be able to move on.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

This reminds me of an old post I made a while back:

[ame=http://forums.ancientclan.com/showpost.php?p=104605&postcount=3]Ancient Clan Forums - View Single Post - Israeli minister vows ‘war to the bitter end’[/ame]

Our education system is seriously lacking compared to other nations.

[Pchan 5,162]

Kids will hate coming to school because now it's even longer than before X'D.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

No child left behind is exactly what it sounds like. No matter how little the kid learned they're passed on to the next grade to get them out of school as quickly as possible. My kid failed 5th 6th 7th and 8th grade, the school passed him on anyway throwing a host of excuses at me when the bottom line is my kid was negatively effecting their test scores. NCLB should be tossed.

Repetition is how most ppl learn and there has to be more time allotted for that in the classrooms. Rushing through chapters to stay on schedule is not helping. We need more days then we currently have to teach everyone. More and more we're seeing kids with learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, forms of autism etc in public schools. These kids need more time to absorb the material. Kids in large school buildings also need more time to get from 1 classroom to the next. Extending the amount of time kids spend in school would take care of some of the rush stress cycle.

The U.S. ranks 134th for government commitment to education

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, in the United States, three percent of the central government budget is allotted to education, making the United States tied for one hundred and thirty-fourth (with Belgium, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria) in that category. Benin ranks first in that category, with 31% of the central government’s budget allotted to education. The world average is five percent, and the average for industrialized nations is four percent.

Sorry but who really gives a fuck what children think about it. It's for their own benefit and the benefit of our society as a whole. Schools puking out dumb Billies is not helping!!!

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Considering what type of country live in they should care what children think. Completely and utterly ignoring what children have to say is the wrong way of going about things.

I'm from North Dakota, I went to school in one of the lowest ranked states for education (we're 48th or 49th, I don't remember) however in my high school alone we had over 75% of the students with a 90% average or higher throughout high school and graduated in the percentage. We were continually rushed through chapters, most of us not really understanding what was going on yet we all ended up graduating with high percentages. Sadly enough today's children are a lot smarter then say 30 years ago with the advent of new technology and new teaching methods. Keeping kids in school longer then 9 months out of the year isn't going to help them understand shit. Your forcing kids to suffer through more shit when they don't want to. Making kids do things they don't want to harms them more and becomes more of a detriment to their education.

NCLB is bullshit and should be thrown off the books. If kids fail they need to redo it, I agree with this. Sadly a lot of what kids learn is based off of teachers, not the amount of schooling they get. A lot of teachers these days just don't give a flying fuck what kids learn or if they even learn it (mostly seen on the high school level). If the teacher doesn't care the student doesn't care, I know I went through it in high school myself. Student mimic what their teachers do a lot of the time so thats why attitude has a lot to do with it.

Considering all the problems our educational system has extending the length of time spent in school should be one of the lowest priorities on the list. Then again what the hell do I know. I'm only 23 and been out of high school for 5 years. I wouldn't have any idea how the school system works today (yes I'm being sarcastic, no I'm not trying to be an ass just pointing out that listening to younger generations gives you more perspective of whats going on. I'm sick and tired of people thinking they know whats good for someone when they have no idea what they go through on a daily basis. I, personally, hated school with a passion. However I ended up in the top 20 of my class with a 96.8% average through high school (equivalent of about a 3.6-3.7 GPA)).

[Ladywriter 7,783]

I have 2 kids in school. I have and do listen to what the generation currently in school says. I also look at their progress reports and report cards. I ask what they do in class and what up with homework. I listen to an even younger generation then someone 5 years out of high school and no I'm not being sarcastic because I actually do talk to my kids and their friends.

Nobody I know liked school, personally I hated every fuckin day of it. Everybody was a fuckin stuck up snob and I got stuck with the occasional asshole teacher. Hating school doesn't have to = hating learning and the bottom line is that is what school is for.

We aren't sending kids to school to torture them. We don't send them to school because we're a bunch of meanies and we want them to be miserable. We send them for an education to prepare them for the future.

I do believe reducing the pace would reduce the stress. Hell just adding 10 minutes to the school day to give more time between classes to hit your locker or get where ya gotta go can ease a burden esp if yer carrying a lotta books like my daughter does (cuz she's got no time to go to her locker )

[Sledgstone 8,672]

This is going to be more of a rant on my part about US schools and isn't directed towards anyone and I don't mean to offend anyone reading this or the education they received.

I think most kids attending middle school and high school in the US generally get a horrible education. Sure kids seem smarter because they know how to use the internet or can trouble shoot some computer problems while their grandparents don't know how to check their email, but my grandpa could do complex math equations without a calculator. I remember my high school math tests allowed calculators. Everyone could solve every problem except the harder paragraph formed questions. The reason they couldn't get those solved is because they couldn't figure out the right equation to type into the calculator to get the answer. But thats ok, because that just means they got an 80% on the test instead of a 100%. And who cares if they could actually do the math by hand or in their head?

The kids I've talked to over the past year only care about school for socializing. And the schools don't seem to care about giving a proper education. But then again, some teachers really want their kids to learn, but the kids don't give a damn about their education. I've seen report cards with all F and the kid passes to the next grade. Why? because 55 is a passing grade. The kids even know that 55 can pass them, so as long as they keep their grade at 55 or above they don't care what the teacher says because they don't have to care to get their diploma.

Heres an actual NY school with it posted on their website. Most don't have it publicly shown on a website because its fucking ridiculous that a failing grade will get you a high school diploma.

http://www.ccs.edu/highschool/guidance/HS%20Grad%20Requirements%202010.pdf

Hell, we actually got a letter from our school district saying that they increased their standards for a regular diploma to 65. wtf. And do high school failure rates reflect these failing grades? hell no, those kids got above 54 and passed! All you need for a diploma is to just attend school. No homework needs to be done, just fill out random blobs on a question sheet for a test and you're ready to join the military because you don't qualify for any grants or get accepted to good colleges.

All no child left behind has accomplished is making schools look the other way to kid's educations in order to get funding from higher passing rates.

The US doesn't even compare to other nation's education systems. In other nations, kids attend school to actually learn something not just socialize. And I can't find it off hand, but I'm pretty damn certain the minimum grade average for a high school diploma isn't a failing grade. To me, the US education system is set to keep the majority of generations dumb so they're more manageable by the government, media, etc. Their free education only gets them enough education to join the military or take out student loans that will only leave them in a life of debt for years because they don't qualify for free higher education because their grades are far below any real standards.

Now back on topic, if extending school could help, fine, but I think they should set actual standards for education that will force kids to have to learn something to actually earn something like a diploma. So many kids think just being themselves is all they need to do with their lives but the reality is that school is work. And as it is now, if kids don't want to work on their education, they don't have to. Also, with current laws and child rights, nobody can force any kid in the US to actually learn anything.