State Board of Education members spent considerable time Tuesday discussing longer school years. Board members noted that other countries, like China and India, have school years longer than 180 days. "We better pay attention to what's going on in other parts of the world," said board member John A. Tate III. But board chairman Bill Harrison acknowledged that having students spend more time at school is not something that's going to happen soon, considering the state's financial straits. In fact, Wilkes County schools got permission from legislators to cut this school year to 162 days and make each day 45 minutes longer so it could save money.
While most in the room endorsed more time at school, state superintendent June Atkinson said some students may be better off spending less time there. "Some kids don't need to come to school everyday," she said. Atkinson wants the state to move toward "personalized education plans," which she said would involve, for example, chances for high school students to take classes, work at internships, and work on projects with mentors. "We've squeezed all the drops of educational juice out of the traditional schedule in public schools," she said. (THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 9/02/09).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
When trying to address the 21st century needs of American students I believe that it is important that we as a society change the way we think about our education system. Many countries around the world consider a quality education not only a right but a must. In countries like Japan, students go to school about 20 school days per year longer than in the U.S. I think that it would be prudent to look at extending the school year from 180 days to 200 days instead of decreasing it to 162 days. After living in Japan for two years, I often times marveled at the dedication to education displayed by Japanese children of all ages. This attitude seemed like a cultural attitude not only individual attitudes. I just think we could learn a lot from investigating different educational systems.
The Education Sector, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC, recently released a report titled "On the Clock: Rethinking the Way Schools Use Time." The report explores the benefits of increased instructional time during the school day but warns that the quality of teaching is as important as the quantity, and makes specific recommendations for policy makers on how to use school time more effectively.
Schools in America operate on a 10-month system. This was established when the United States was still a largely agrarian nation. Children were often needed to work in the fields during the summer. Obviously times have changed today. Much of the research advocates doing away with this 'antiquated' system and moving to year round education.
What exactly does this phrase mean? Generally, it means that schools will continue to operate on a 180 day system, yet they will spread these days out differently with shorter breaks between each term. The most popular example of year round education is the 45-15 plan. This has students attending school 45 days and then getting three weeks (15 days) off. The normal breaks (holiday, spring) are still built into this calendar.
Some of the better arguments supporting this change are:
1. Students tend to forget a lot during the summer, and shorter vacations might increase retention rates.
2. Schools that are not being used in the summer are inefficient.
3. Short breaks can provide time for students to receive enrichment education.
4. Remediation can occur when it is most needed during the school year.
5. Some students get bored during the long break of summer.
6. It's easier to schedule vacations because not everyone wants to travel at the same time.
Year round education is a very complex topic with many variables that must be considered. Like Jerome, I think we can learn a lot from experimenting with altering our school calendar.
Post a Comment