Strollerderby
Longer School Days, Better Grades?
Ferris Bueller’s worst nightmare might be the answer to bad grades and dismal test scores. CNN highlights a new trend – extending the length of the school day. The article reports that on average, students in the U.S. spend less time in the classroom than their counterparts in many other industrialized countries. Programs in Massachusetts and other states increase the number of hours per day that students spend in class, as well as the number of days – some programs have kids in school on Saturdays, and may have their summer vacations shortened. In some cases, students end up spending 50% more time in school than they would in traditional programs.
The argument that giving students more time to study will yield positive results is compelling, but let’s face it – not a lot of kids are going to be excited about tacking on another two hours’ worth of lectures about the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act. And extending the hours spent in the classroom could cut into after-school sports programs as well as daylight hours that kids could be spending outside at play – an important consideration, considering all of the talk about childhood obesity these days. To combat student boredom and lethargy, schools that extend their hours are offering a variety of non-traditional classes to keep kids engaged. This includes classes that incorporate physical activity, and adding on additional recess time.
I’ll admit that I’m on the fence here; as a grown-up, I’m a big fan of work/life balance, and despite the positives, I wonder if longer school days are really a good thing. Yes, getting an education is important, but so too is having some free time. After all, kids will have about 40 to 50 years of sitting behind a desk for 8 hours a day to look forward to after graduation.
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3 Comments
lionandmagicboy commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amFrom what I understand, many Europeans have school year-round but have longer breaks when they have them as opposed to our paltry a-week-here-and-a-week-there with the summer off. I’m actually in favor of a longer day, IF the day is broken up with plenty of outside activity AND that the longer days aren’t for the earliest grades.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI think I have to agree with the first comment. Although I believe exercise is very important, as far as a weight loss tool, it takes a great deal of exercise to burn off what people can easily eat in 2 minutes.
My only questions is about the structure of the school. I always thought Europeans had less school, at least as far as time of the year. It seemed that they always had a bazillion vacations (but perhaps the number of hours per day is more? i dunno).
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amRather than leaving a crazy long comment, here’s my opinion:
http://kellyology.blogspot.com/2007/02/id-rather-have-brainy-kid-vs-fat-jock.html
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