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Obama Calls for Longer School Year
October 11, 2010
There is really nothing more to say — except why. But since why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how.
-Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
-Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
"We can't spend our way out of it. I think that when you look at the statistics, the fact is that our per-pupil spending has gone up during the last couple of decades even as results have gone down. Obviously, in some schools money plays a big factor...", Obama said, pointing out that schools in the poorest areas often don't have up-to-date textbooks. "On the other hand, money without reform will not fix the problem."
Obama said his administration's "reform agenda" includes increasing standards, finding and encouraging the best teachers, decreasing bureaucracy, and deploying financial resources effectively. Teachers who fail to live up to expectations need to be given a chance to improve, he said, while those who do not should move on.
Obama repeated his support for a longer school year after being asked about it by students from a sixth-grade class in Cincinnati, Ohio. He did not specify how long that school year should be, however he noted that U.S. students attend classes, on average, about a month less than children in most other advanced countries.
"That month makes a difference. It means students are losing a lot of what they learn during the school year during the summer.... The idea of a longer school year, I think, makes sense," Obama said. "Now, that's going to cost some money ... but I think that would be money well spent."
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Pensacola, FL, United States
Students with ADD will benefit from being in school all year round. If you don't use it, you lose it. Teachers also complain that they don't have enough time to get it all done. A longer year would allow time for fun activities such as gym and art.
But the biggest headache is all the paperwork a teacher has to fill out for the government. It takes valuable time away from preparing lessons. Teachers could do a better job if the government didn't force them to fill out so many forms.
Getting rid of poor teachers is only half the problem. The students need to be motivated to stay in school. For a middle-class student, the consequence is that if you drop out of school, you won't earn as much money. But if the student is on welfare, that consequence doesn't apply. They make the same amount if they drop out or not. Maybe the students would get serious about their own education if the consequence for dropping out was that they have to apply to the military before they can apply for welfare. Tell them that if they spend too much time hanging out with their friends, they'll have to kiss those friends goodbye.
VPK is a good idea, but many low-income families can't send their kids to preschool because the parent has to be at work early, there isn't a bus, and they have no way of getting the child there. The sooner the child starts their education, the better, but right now, preschool is just something the middle class can afford.
Shishu Vikash Kendra
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Longer school year cannot slove the problem . It could lose the valuabl time of the children .
Yuba College
CA, United States
I don't think that a longer school year will solve this problem. Ouch. I am already tired and the thought of working a longer school year is not appealing. Would we get paid more? In addition, has our pupil spending really increased in the last couple of decades? I haven't seen this increase. Have you?
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