More schools are considering adding more time in the classroom

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Permalink Reply by Tom Turner on July 29, 2009 at 12:53pm

In an period where many districts are cutting back budgets, which means also a raise in insurance rates and no annual increases of salary commensurate with that, I would argue against this tooth and nail. This is not to say that I'm a dedicated educator, but at some point I would have to say enough is enough, getting more and more out of teachers for next to nothing.

I would be more for a longer school day that would allow more subject content that is not reading and math to be taught. All too often I'm hearing administrators tell teachers to can the teaching of science and social studies because they are not on the test. It's truly appalling to have to sit there and listen to it. I would much rather see credits continue for that very fact, to make sure our students are being taught these all too forgotten content areas.

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Permalink Reply by Margie Johnson on July 30, 2009 at 12:32am

Bottom line.....we need personalized learning for students. Schools need to be restructured for mastery of skills not by grade levels. Question: Once you graduated from high school, how often have you been grouped with people solely based on your age? I have not. I work with people of all ages, races, etc. We master various skills at various times. I will have to look to see if there are any articles based on grouping students for mastery of skills and engaging them in project-based learning instead of the current structure that we have.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Marshall on July 30, 2009 at 3:36pm

It seems a pretty simple, common sense argument. Kids spend more time learning, kids learn more. Of course the problem is that it requires a great deal of money to support a system like this financially. If pay doesn't increase with longer hours and more work days, there will be a mass exodus of teachers from education. I know the KIPP teachers are paid more for working longer hours. Many of these KIPP schools also require teachers to give out their cell phone numbers to parents and students and to encourage them to call at anytime for help. They have to be available 24/7. They also have astounding success rates with their population which is mostly at-risk kids. I could support phasing it in slowly, starting with where it is needed most.

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Permalink Reply by Kirsty Wertz on July 31, 2009 at 2:03pm

Is self-paced, online learning an option for extending the school year without requiring additional hours from teachers?

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Wright on August 3, 2009 at 6:36pm

I think self-paced online learning would be a great idea to use instead of extending the school day!

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Permalink Reply by Chris Marshall on August 7, 2009 at 9:05am

I agree that self-paced online learning would be a great option. However, I wonder if that is going to help reach (save) our at-risk population. The only way to extend the school day/year without extending teacher hours or hiring more teachers is to extend it at home. Self-paced online learning is a great idea for those kids that are not being challenged enough and have safe secure homes with computers to connect them. Those kids that take control of their own learning process. But, I believe the schools considering extended school days are doing so because they have an at-risk population where there is usually little if any support at home. These are the kids that are apathetic or even antagonistic toward their own education. Once they leave the confines of the school, it does not exist anymore. Most of these kids are way behind in most every skill and content area. Time is the most precious commodity that a techer has and the proposal is to provide more of it.

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