Obama Proposes Longer School Days, Extended School Year

For this generation of students to remain competitive with their international peers as adults, they need to start spending more time in school. This week President Obama proposed that American school children extend their time in class, either by lengthening the school day, or spending less time on summer vacation.

“We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day,” Obama said. He continued to say “That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage. Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea. That is no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy.”

In fact, American children spend the least amount time in the classroom when compared to other countries. Currently, the school year length in the States is 180 days. Advocates are pushing further toward a 200-day school year, which would align with Thailand, Scotland and the Netherlands, and leave us a close second with Israel, South Korea and Japan, who leads with a 243-day school year.

This comes as Obama makes it very clear that education is on his hot-list of priorities. He admits the notion of spending more time in school is not “wildly popular”, but necessary.

He was applauded for his breadth of knowledge regarding the public education system in the U.S. He cited that one-third of the 13- and 14-year-olds in our country cannot read at an appropriate level for their age, and that the eighth grade curriculum is two years behind competing nations. He says the part of the problem is our “race to the bottom” mindset, wherein states are comfortable with lower standards for students.

Obama and his Secretary of Education Duncan, are truly advocates for a superior education system than that we’ve previously and currently known. It’s imperative that states use the stimulus package money to rebuild curriculum, increase teacher pay, improve school conditions, offer newer technologies to students and even extend the school year to ensure that this generation can not only keep up with their international peers, but even surpass them in the professional environment of the coming decades.

Do you agree, disagree, not sure, as to whether this will improve the quality of public education?

I know something needs to improve but do school systems that are making it work have to also go longer to improve the ones that are not.

As a substitute teacher and former full time elementary teacher I can see the merits but teacher pay would have to increase to cover the additional hours in my opinion.

Kids need time to be kids. Against.

I can see an extra 10-15 days in class per school year. Perhaps with an emphasis on reading. I am not for anything that puts it's priority on competition with international peers or keeping up with them, much less pushing to surpass them in a professional enviroment. I just have a problem with that attitude.

Kids grow up fast enough. I'd rather get rid of the television, limit cell phone use, ipod use and other distracting things that cover a multitude of emotional denial and low self esteem. We as adults have our own ways to cover this up.... thus keeping ourselves in a "below state". Even working longer hours is an addiction to cover stress, lonliness, loss of hope and other illnesses. I have thoughts that longer school hours and days could do the same thing.

So I guess I would be against it until there is a benifit for all involved, other then keeping up or getting ahead of our "International Joneses". Can we not focus right now on the state our own country financially??? In a few years we may not be able to even afford the school year that we have now.

It's a tough call but...teachers do spend the first month of school re-teaching what was lost over the summer. I would be open to a year-round idea if we could wrap our minds around the concept that we're not really losing vacation...it is just distributed differently.

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I can't remember which of two books-of-the-moment -- Outliers or Nudge, I think it was Outliers -- explained why so many students with low socioeconomic status struggle to keep up. With most of the kids who don't have a lot of parental involvement in their education, they manage to catch up to their peers or close to it during the school year, but then the summer comes and without reading or enrichment activity that many other students get, they fall behind again, and spend the next school year catching up again.

So there is a very good argument to be made for this, as a society. I also think there is a good argument for ramping up our education to match that of other industrialized countries, simply because we are now in a global marketplace and to compete economically we have to prepare our students. Unfortunately not every American family places a high priority on quality of education, in the way that some other cultures do.

The main problem I see is that this is an ivory-tower idea that will be tough to implement, even if it is the right thing to do. It makes me wince because I really think this is a lot of change at once and all these potentially good ideas and plans may end up backfiring on Obama if the people start digging their heels in even more.

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i have never seen a kid with a book in his hands constantly struggle in school. of 20 kids in a typical classroom, how many do you believe have a library card and use it weekly?

AGAINST! longer class time doesnt mean a better education. we have to get in the business of actually teaching our kids again in the time WE were all given. let kids be kids for godsake!

Kids need a long continuous stretch of downtime. One of the joys of going to school is it feels so good when it ends and you've got that long summer to just goof off and be a kid. Then come September you're ready to go back to school, reluctantly of course. Brings back lots of fond memories. I don't recall doing anything academic over the long summers, and I have no regrets. I did spend a fair amount of time reading for pleasure however.

UNREAL! its like some sectors in the u.s. that no longer keep score for youth sports. they get rewarded regardless thus not learning from losing and/or winning. but, at least they feel good about themselves-PUHLEEZE!!!! we will all lose more than we'll win in life and great lessons come from that. thats the modern day educational system for ya.....way to go libs!

reading, not reference material, news, games. reading fiction, non fiction. holding a book in your hands...not iming, emailing,jerking off. there is a huge difference, or would you know?

glad you know that all the folks on the district level are "libs", and that you know more about education than they.

Agreed.


Wow--that felt really weird.

I am opposed to a mandatory longer school day. I would not be opposed to an optional longer school day that offered enrichment-only, high quality, activities such as music lessons, tutoring, sports teams, etc. I am already running my 5 kids all around town to attend to various after-school activities. However, my kindergartner just needs to come HOME after a long day at school and my 8th grader already stays after school nearly every day for various sports or other activities. So any changes should be geared to the age group.

I would not support any longer school day that takes children away from primary caregivers and givers the job of raising children to strangers. If this every happens, I will home school. My time with my kids is limited as it is, and more importantly, their time at HOME is limited. (I can see the need where there is not a supportive home environment).

I would not be opposed to a longer school year with the major breaks broken-up in a year round calendar. However, I believe there are problems implementing a year-round calendar in high schools because there are conflicts with athletics and activities and students in different tracks. It would be important to me, as a parent of children of different ages, to have all the schools on the same calendar.

A great book to read about education and why it has problems, and how to fix them is Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School professor.

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if the fact that libs are the majority in our public system is something you dont know than that explains a whole lot thats all ill say

ill bet your a real pleasure to be around....

Masturbation Superhighway?

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are you surprised by that comment? im sure not

absolutely.....

Could you elaborate on the bolded part? I don't think I understand what you are saying. Is it too much change at once to extend classroom hours? Or are there more changes that go along with this?

At the very least, I think it would be beneficial to add homework lab in the afternoon. For those students who have no good custodial care it would help if there were support while they tackle homework assignments. Much like many colleges do by having a math, chemistry, or physics lab available daily.

I am a firm believer that the main problem with our education system is lack of parental involvement. Any support would help those students.

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I don't think extending the school day is going to help. If anything it'll hurt since kids just stop absorbing information at a certain point.

Extending the school year seems like a slightly better idea, but kids still need breaks. It seems to me it would be more beneficial to give breaks throughout the year as opposed to a long break that they can completely forget or unlearn everything they've been taught.

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yes, it is time we take steps to rebuild our education system. the following (from above article) is really key...

there are so many ways to accomplish this. starting with teacher qualifications, pay. and excellent curriculum and education philosophy, etc etc. I would not like to see longer school days or longer school year. it may be helpful to working parents, but I am not convinced longer day/school year is what children need - children do need time to play - a lot of time to play! what they need is an outstanding education provided within their school day and school year. we can do that with real long term work and transformation of the school systems at every level. it won't be accomplished through testing however.

there are many schools (private and public) throughout our nation providing outstanding education to children. why not observe these models, in addition to educational models in other countries.

lemme spell it out for you. P M

thank you so much aggieb. I was trying to ignore these comments. they starting to get old.

I think they need to spend some time in detention hall.

currently, in florida there are now 9{NINE!!} tests given merely as predictors of how the students may perform on FCAT. this is insanity!! teachers have fewer hours to teach core curriculum. the testing fever needs to abate.

Agreed.

Wow-that felt weird too.

FCAT and no child left behind need to go.

The theory that if you take money from a failing school will somehow improve it makes no sense.

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a friend teaches elementary school--second grade.

She told me that the teachers got together at her school and totaled up the amount of time they spend testing and preparing students for the standard mandatory tests.

They determined that theyspend six weeks out of the year testing and preparing the students for these mandatory tests...six weeks that are not spent on teaching the students the knowledge and skills they need for a good foundation!

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Let me spell it out for you...

J E R K

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I am 100% against a year 'round school year - kids need a break and time to be kids. We do need more time in the actual school day/year, but a lot of that could come from reducing wasted time w/in the day/schedule and distractions.

I am also convinced that a large part of the problem with our public schools is how much interference and kibbitzing there is in the school curriculum/schedule from parents, the government and the $%#^# teacher's unions. It's like how the lobbyists and special interests all screw up our government.

Teachers need to be able to run their classrooms without parents interfering and overruling any attempts at discipline. And 99% of the "self-esteem" and "learning disability" crap needs to go out the window so GRADES, HARD WORK, and LEARNING are the focus. Likewise the 3 day weekends for "teacher inservice" that just happen to fall on holiday weekends, excessive standardized tests, any electronics in the school that aren't being used by the teacher to teach, inappropriate dress, and a variety of other distractions need to go buh-bye.

Kids should go to school from approximately Labor Day to Memorial Day, with a vacation at Christmas and in the Spring, with 8 class periods a day (4 before a palatable lunch, 4 after) that include art, a foreign language, music, and gym class................but do NOT include time out of the school day for organized sports teams.

All after school activities need to end by 6 pm (so kids have time for a family dinner, homework, and sleep) or be limited to one night a week if travel (only allowed within your general geographic area for conference competition and on a big yellow bus) is involved.

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8 class periods a day? If each teacher gives 30 minutes of homework that's 4 hours of homework. After an 8+ hour school day you're over 12 hours of school work a day. Kids just can't handle that much. I'm for year round schooling with longer breaks in the summer and winter. Other than industries that rely on high schoolers as employees a shortened summer break doesn't really hurt anyone.

As for sports they are a necessity as they teach teamwork, discipline, and keeps kids from becoming obese and lethargic. Having said that coaches need to instill a sense of hard work that extends to academics and enforce a high standard for athletes. Letting them play sports with a solid D average is just stupid and only supports athletics being more important than academics.

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Part of the reason for the 8 class periods is to allow students the opportunity to take all the elective classes (like band, art, chorus, industrial arts, home ec etc.) they want and to allow them to be able to have a study hall so they can use the library or school computers if needed to do their homework.

Your scenario assumes that kids have no study hall/class time to do work and get 1/2 an hour of homework in every class every night - which is not realistic since their classes would include non-homework classes like gym, art, shop etc. and teachers who give that amount of homework would have to spend a significant amount of their time correcting it.

I agree sports (and other extracurriculars) are important - but not so important that time needs to be taken out of the school day for them. Plenty of time for competition and practice after the academic school day is done and students would also be receiving the benefits of exercise during gym. Typically the kids who would benefit the most from regular exercise are not participating in extracurricular sports.

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"Chemicals should not be innocent until proven guilty."

A half hour is an average. Certain classes would have more, I don't remember teachers ever consulting each other as to the work load they were giving their students. Even when asked for a reprieve due to another teacher already assigning a large home work assignment, the answer was pretty much "not my problem". Every teacher feels that their individual subject is the most important and will rarely, if ever, give into that.

If you're allowing for a gym period then why can't the football, baseball, basketball, swim, track/field, soccer, or whatever else teams be allowed to practice instead of participating in dodge ball? I'd love to see you sell that at any school in the country. In addition you get back to coaches pushing for leniency of homework for students who practice after school.

It might work in your head, but generally in the south academics is very much second to athletics. For example, despite a manhunt for an armed fugitive the SWHS Seahawks continued on with their exhibition game.

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thoughtful answers seasoned with...never mind
Ohioan here... many of our schools are not air conditioned. School here starts 3rd week of August, usually ends (unless there are "snow days" to make up) by June 7th-10th...August can be 90 degrees plus with high humidity and June nearly the same
needless to say lengthening the school year without air conditioning would be brutal for the students and teachers
also the state requires teachers to earn a masters degree...many do that work during the student summer break...a change to year round school would necessitate the universities reworking graduate programs to some extent...there are more online options becoming available but I'm not sure that is for the best in all circumstances

For

First of all, I believe President Obama thoughts on this are justified in some respects but I don't neccesarily think a much larger school school year to fix the problem. As a country we are lightyears behind other countries (China, Thailand, South Korea) in math and science.
At my school we have Asians easily passing the AP calculus and Physics, Chemistry exams by the end of their 9th or 10th grade year. Few Americans in public schools will ever even think about taking those tests. I'll tell you what they're not better because of genetics they are better because they work a thousand times harder than Americans in those subjects. I was actually talking to a Thai scholar (they take a test and the Thai government sends the top scorers away to top boarding schools in the U.S.) and I was asking him about why kids who are so intelligent from those countries come to the U.S. where the bar is set lower and he told me he doesn't think those countries develop critical thinking enough. He said classes over there are more about 15-17 hours a day memorizing formulas for physics and here they are more about understanding complex ideas.

So I think a longer school day/year is necessary but it would be useless if they don't also fix the other major problems with the public education system in this country.

you'll never know

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I would guess that we have given up much of our critical-thinking teaching to teaching to the test. 'No child left behind' may benefit some students and some schools but it does not add to the education of most AP students, who could use this lost time on concept and critical thinking skills.

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"Peace .... starts with the person who attempts to diffuse the tension and backs away from the inflammatory rhetoric."

I am conflicted on this- I truly see the benefit of year round school with multiple, shorter breaks and how this schedule is helpful to learning and retention.

But- I love summer break. Our kids love summer break. There are so many great things to do over a long summer, however, would life as we know it be over if the school year was stretched out? Probably not- I would selfishly gripe, but it would be an adjustment, not a major civil right taken away.

We like the school year the way it is because that is the way it has always been- and we have discussed this concept before - just because something has always been a certain way, doesn't necessarily mean it is still the best way.

I also think we should definitely look at the educational systems of other countries- our kids will be (and currently are) competing for jobs in a global economy. To assume that we are educating them better because this is the USA is very short-sighted - patriotism is awesome, but it can also restrict progress. Corporations look to successful corporations for inspiration- why can't we apply the same model to education, and take some successful educational models from other countries? Or are we too proud?

I think everyone can relax- I doubt Obama is going to run out and kill summer break.

totally agree!

this is an issue that has been under review for many years. and you may be right - it could be just the thing to do - lengthen the school year. we will all adjust if it comes to that.

but I just do not see how that is going to improve one thing about the quality of education provided to all children , unless and until education in America is redefined/reshaped/rewhatever. it is not the hours/days spent in the classroom, imo (ask any serious homeschoolers, or excellent private or public schools).. it is the basic philosophy of education, how learning/exploring is viewed by the student (something fun and wonderful), how material is delivered (teaching techniques, individual studen readiness, etc), how professionally qualified is the teacher and how much is she/he earning? in other words - the overall quality of education is what will make all the difference. then and only then can we consider whether more time in the year/day is needed.

the load of homework put on kids today is unnecessary, imo. yes, i can see having research papers and special projects due now and then. but why aren't these kids doing their work in school? and why do they have hours of work to do when they get home each day? and if it is so necessary, then why aren't our students doing better in their achievement?

there is just so much that needs to go into delivering a quality education. longer school day/year is not the answer on its own - excellence in educational programs is the only real long term answer.

tests? NO... vouchers? NO WAY... more homework? NO... more hours in the day or school year?? aint' going to change a thing... restructure of schools starting at the top? YES. making the profession of teacher a professional career with highest standards and good pay? OH YES.... using the very best in curricular development and teaching practices? uh huh. how about instilling in students a love of learning and exploration? what about teaching students based on their own abilities and levels? ahhh... now that sounds more like it. its just common sense stuff. I think President Obama (as well as professional educators) really gets it. and I know if he's thinking of expanding the school year its because he knows these other things must be done as well. Education is the key to the future.

My best friend teaches in a year round school and the adjustment at first was difficult for some, easier for others, but the majority adjusted very quickly and now they love it.

They get 8 weeks in the summer, a spring break of a week, a fall break of a week and 2 weeks during Christmas.

When I taught in a very disadvantaged urban inner city school, I could definitely see the need for more time spent at school. For one thing many of the students hated going home to an environment of crime, drugs, and battered children and mothers. It was so sad, to have some cry and beg to stay after school and help in any way rather than face what was waiting at home. Many did not get a meal that evening or a change of clothes. Many times I wondered if these children would be better off in a boarding school of some sort at least during the week.

I don't have any answers other than I appreciate the President caring enough to realize something needs to be done.

you make good points but is 8 weeks of summer that different than Walton County has now?

Mr. TFT knows a lot of highly educated foreign-born types who take science and math extremely seriously, adding enrichment activities beyond what they get in our public and private schools. He came home one day and told me about Kumon, a private math program that is designed to both help those who are struggling and help those doing well to zip ahead. My understanding is that many of those who take advantage of this program are immigrants who are trying to pass along the high standards of their home countries to their children.

We are pushing science and math big time with our boys, mostly because they already enjoy it and show an aptitude, and we tell them all the time that the world can use some more really good scientists and engineers. Not sure if I am quite ready to go the Kumon route though (or similar); it's maybe a cultural thing -- we have sports to take them to after all!

I agree with Toots though that education is the key to everything, and that we need to make an effort as a country to at the very least keep up. I'd want to start with ways to improve efficiency.

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I thought that going to year round school was more about learning consistency than more time in the classroom? The breaks are still there- they would just be spread out instead of chunked.

yes, a year-round schedule is a model used more and more by US schools - typically 180 days with breaks throughout the year. I believe the typical schedule is something like 45 days on / 15 days off throughout the year, or similar. but Obama is talking about students needing to spend more time (more school days per year and/or more hours in a school day) in the classroom much like other countries with good success in educational outcomes.

the extension of the school year makes sense and is already in use all over the country. it does seem like a good way to provide continuity for children (and families). it would be interesting to see if teachers and students like this model and if it has made a difference in student progress.

maybe the year round school would make a difference in student progress as opposed to more school days per year or more hours per day.

Most of the children who aren't achieving probably do not have the family support, structure and parents setting home standards to accomplish their homework. Kids these days are going home and playing the Wii.
I used to live in a community that was largely Asian. The children used to go to public school, then after that, go to an Asian school for a couple of hours, then go home and do more homework. They were disciplined beyond belief.

I do not agree with a longer school day, but lengthening the school year, leaving say a 4 week summer break, along with the other holidays and breaks, seems like a good idea. I remember enjoying my summers off as a kid, but after a while, I couldn't wait to get back to school. Many kids, especially those on the spectrum, need the structure in their lives. I know my nephews start getting antsy. Also, parents having to try to find something to do with them that's educational and funn can be become cumbersome.

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lack of family support is definitely one major problem with kids not succeeding in school.

I hope we do not increase the number of days in the school year, but if so maybe it won't be by many. I just do not see how this is going to benefit anyone unless the delivery of education improves radically. year round school sounds more effective to me (with plenty of breaks). I truly believe children and families benefit from having time for family travel and doing lots of other discovery/activities outside of school - as a family, at camp, on vacation, in the backyard woods, staying with grandma, visiting museums, staying home in your pj's watching cartoons and playing with legos, riding bikes and enjoying a wonderful summer in your bathing suit. Children need extended play breaks, imo.

I firmly believe that to improve education in our public schools we need to improve the quality of education provided. then and only then will more time in the classroom make a bit of sense. why subject children to more test teaching? doesn't make sense to me.

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Children who do not have parents who are as actively involved in their children's education as most of us probably are, are the ones who I believe would benefit the most, as Minnie relates above, to extended educational opportunities - not necessarily in the same setting or with the same teachers they have been with all day or school year, but in a more hands-on, discovery type of atmosphere to build on classroom studies.

Many of us provide these opportunities for our kids through camps, travel, planned outings, etc. over the summer to expand our kids experiences. I would not want to give this up; but, I do see that all households cannot always afford to do this. Or maybe they do not recognize the value of it or just don't care? I would like to see these students get a helping hand in order to expand their knowledge and experiences.

I wouldn't be opposed to spreading the breaks out differently.

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"Peace .... starts with the person who attempts to diffuse the tension and backs away from the inflammatory rhetoric."

From the original posted article:

Quote:

For this generation of students to remain competitive with their international peers as adults, they need to start spending more time in school. This week President Obama proposed that American school children extend their time in class, either by lengthening the school day, or spending less time on summer vacation.

His proposal is more class hours, not particularly year round school.

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