Obama pressing for longer school year

[BeNice]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...schools11.html

For a new generation of perfect employees.

[The Strong Silent Type]

It makes since. We no longer have to tend to the farm during the summers. I don't think making the day longer is a a good idea, but it might be great for parents. I just hope they can make it engaging for kids, while paying the teachers what they deserve. 9 hour school days... uhg

[The Strong Silent Type]

I also don't think that we should put our kids through a harder time just because other countries are doing it. Children need to develop naturally. Forcing too much onto them doesn't seem right to me.

[WineKitty]

"Despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we have let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short and other nations outpace us," Obama said. "In eighth-grade math, we've fallen to ninth place. Singapore's middle-schoolers outperform ours 3-to-1. Just a third of our 13- and 14-year-olds can read as well as they should."
Among his proposals: extra pay for better teachers, something opposed by teachers unions.
"It is time to start rewarding good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones," he said in a speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Obviously, he prefaced that to satisy the nationalists who somehow believe simply because they were born in America that it is the best country in the world. That is a load of crap. I am completely anti-nationalism.


But one cannot be in politics without having the America is Great mentality. America isnt great. Ninth place in the world in math, behind Singapore? Our kids are turning into idiots. Our schools are a joke.



Longer school years are a great idea; my kid did year round school and it worked well for us. I think he got more out of school that way.



I am all for year round schooling, higher teacher pay, more funding for schools, smaller classrooms etc. Educationg should be a top priority in this country. A good education should not just be for the wealthy.

Our kids wont be able to compete in the global market by simply saying I am from America the Bestest country in the world.. If our country is so great, shouldnt our kids be the brightest of the bunch rather than number nine and dropping? Only 1/3 of 13-14 year olds can read properly for their group??? WTF???

[Jnmcda0]

Originally Posted by WineKitty

Obviously, he prefaced that to satisy the nationalists who somehow believe simply because they were born in America that it is the best country in the world. That is a load of crap. I am completely anti-nationalism.

I'm somewhat patriotic, but I'm not a jingo. There are a lot of areas where the US is not the best in the world. We are by no means perfect and there are a lot of things America could do a lot better. I like what George Carlin said about patriotism...be happy to be an American, but don't be proud. Pride goes before a fall.

[bobthebuilder]

lol so dumb. Its not about time spent in school, its the lack of standards, terrible curriculum and out of control kids. Longer school days hardly addresses those problems, and is only useful when those other problems are solved.

Another thing I do not understand, is why state how much better the rest of the world is, without giving a reason why.

And no, more money isnt always the answer. Lets try managing how the money they currently have is spent. Like anything else run by the govt, its a money pit. More and more money is put in, less and less results come out.

[SilentLoner]

Ugh, I graduated from HS a little over three years ago and the thought of a longer day still makes me cringe. Glad I'm out of there I guess lol.

But if schools don't improve in the first place, extending the day isn't going to make much of a difference.

[N3XT2NON3]

gotta make the learning experience more interesting and insightful if the day will be extended.

[nubly]

yet another bright idea by barry why not see about changing the quality of teachers?

[Micronian]

Originally Posted by The Strong Silent Type

It makes since. We no longer have to tend to the farm during the summers. I don't think making the day longer is a a good idea, but it might be great for parents. I just hope they can make it engaging for kids, while paying the teachers what they deserve. 9 hour school days... uhg

I live in the farm in Japan and kids STILL have longer, year-round, school days than in North America.

Students in Japan (as a general example of much of industrialized Asia) work twice as hard as students in North America, but they don't know twice as much. They cannot adapt to new situations/ideas as quickly as a North American Student. The 8th grade math that obama talks about is a simple A=>B process. No surprises. memorize and presto! Give similar students some 1st yr university calculus/astronomy problems that they've never seen before, and they will do exactly the same. Students will get to the same goal, they'll just get there by different means. 8th grade doesn't reveal anything!

The only major--and I mean MAJOR--advantage a country like Japan has is that the entire community is concerned with the school, and the school is central to the activities of the community. All festivals and traditional ceremonies are held in the school grounds; all sporting activities are handled by the school; lots of extracurricular education from arranging P/T job placements to learning to ride a bike; all parents are required to join and donate to the PTA; and a wide variety of little things such as having the teachers visit students homes, punishing the parents for bad kids, and one time an old lady called up the local school principal to complement a student for helping her do an errand.

When was the last time someone called up your local school to say what a good job they were doing?

To think that when you leave school, most people just run for the doors, say "good riddance", or vandalize something. In Japan, students literally burst into tears from leaving their entire lives back in their schools. That is the biggest difference with the US (and Canada) and other countries when it comes to schools.

[Micronian]

Originally Posted by nubly

yet another bright idea by barry why not see about changing the quality of teachers?

typical copout comment.

Teachers are only allowed to teach what the government tells them, using the approved books, and within a rigid timeframe--constantly diminishing!

I think the average teacher in North America is kind of enclosed in a box: They can't do this, they can't do that. The school is also enclosed in a box, especially in a politically polarized (and politically correct) environment like the US. which makes People end up undervaluing (ie; removing music/phys. ed/school trips/etc. from the curriculum) the schools and then lay blame at them & the teachers, thereby continuing that cycle of undervaluing the schools.

...which just leaves the students to fend for themselves, often (and predictably so) losing.

[nubly]

Originally Posted by Micronian

typical copout comment.

Teachers are only allowed to teach what the government tells them, using the approved books, and within a rigid timeframe--constantly diminishing!

I think the average teacher in North America is kind of enclosed in a box: They can't do this, they can't do that. The school is also enclosed in a box, especially in a politically polarized (and politically correct) environment like the US. which makes People end up undervaluing (ie; removing music/phys. ed/school trips/etc. from the curriculum) the schools and then lay blame at them & the teachers, thereby continuing that cycle of undervaluing the schools.

...which just leaves the students to fend for themselves, often (and predictably so) losing.

in that case then barry needs to focus on how teaching is being done, not extending the hours

[BeNice]

Originally Posted by Micronian

typical copout comment.

Teachers are only allowed to teach what the government tells them, using the approved books, and within a rigid timeframe--constantly diminishing!

I think the average teacher in North America is kind of enclosed in a box: They can't do this, they can't do that. The school is also enclosed in a box, especially in a politically polarized (and politically correct) environment like the US. which makes People end up undervaluing (ie; removing music/phys. ed/school trips/etc. from the curriculum) the schools and then lay blame at them & the teachers, thereby continuing that cycle of undervaluing the schools.

...which just leaves the students to fend for themselves, often (and predictably so) losing.

Being forced into compulsory schooling made me disdain the whole idea of getting an education, even though I kind of knew college wouldn't be as bad. I was inspired by the teachers that tried to do their own thing, which often meant ditching the textbook and excessive homework assignments. Schools are jails for children preparing them for a world where they will most likely spend much time trapped indoors all day, working with other blank faced people, shuffling things around. I pretty much gave up by the end of high school because I didn't want much to do with that world, even if it meant being poor.

[UltraShy]

I don't think a longer school year will help any. There are places with year-round school with periodic breaks during the year, but they still go the same 180-days as far as I know.

Public schools in many suburbs turn out competent students with only a 180 days per year to do so. Yet many inner-city public schools fail given the same amount of time, making me think the issue may be something other than the number of days. Private schools seem to get the job done as well, but don't they also use only 180 days as well?

And I'm guessing teachers will want more pay if they have extra days. Where is the money coming from? More debt? Will the feds be paying, so they can add it to their 12 trillion debt pile? Will states deep in the red be paying?

[Mr. Frostie]

Its the quality of education, not the amount of time spent. Too much effort and money is wasted on useless things like sports, science teachers having to walk on eggshells to not offend the religious right, and "social studies" (leftist indoctrination) and not enough on academics and practical skills. Obama probably just wants to make the school days longer so they can add more B.S. to the curriculum like Women's Studies and African American Studies to brainwash kids and build his army of Obama Youth.

Also, the teachers today are punch of pansies and don't discipline the kids creating a environment that's not conducive to learning. Kids don't respect the teachers because the teachers try to act cool and goofy and be their friends. Public school teachers could learn a thing or two from Catholic nuns.

[bobthebuilder]

Originally Posted by BeNice

Being forced into compulsory schooling made me disdain the whole idea of getting an education, even though I kind of knew college wouldn't be as bad. I was inspired by the teachers that tried to do their own thing, which often meant ditching the textbook and excessive homework assignments. Schools are jails for children preparing them for a world where they will most likely spend much time trapped indoors all day, working with other blank faced people, shuffling things around. I pretty much gave up by the end of high school because I didn't want much to do with that world, even if it meant being poor.

This sounds like me too. I hated the idea of taking classes i didnt want too, and having none of it amount to much. (woopdy doo, a hs diploma. any idiot can do that). And there were hardly any classes offered that i would want to take. It was boring, and I didnt want to be there. College sounded so much better, choosing what you wanted to learn. Yea I knew there were required classes, but it went toward a degree I wanted, that I chose, and some of the classes i would actually be interested in.

The good teachers were the strict and engaging types. The kind who were full of energy, and knew how people learn. They had good methods of teaching, of showing how to do something or using assignments that you learned from. And they were the type who wouldnt put up with shenanigans, theyd move you (permanently i might add, as stated the first day of class) the first time you acted up, and kicked you out the next time. They just kinda gave off an aura of authority, and alot of the problem kids just behaved. The ones who didnt, well they just get kicked out at the first glimpse of trouble. They wouldnt really do anything, or the teacher may not have seen it, but they knew what was going on and just gave'em the boot.

[The Strong Silent Type]

Throw on an extra month in the summer to focus on things like music, foreign languages, and thinking outside of the box. If we are to put are kids through more school I think it should be useful stuff that will improve creativity and communication throughout their entire life.

[Sloppy Joe]

Originally Posted by UltraShy

Private schools seem to get the job done as well, but don't they also use only 180 days as well?

private schools can have less than 180, i know of a few that do

[ivankaramazov]

Summer break should be eliminated. Also, I should be able to buy booze on Sunday. The 19th century needs to stop intruding into my life.

[Cerberus]

Students need more exercise. In several experiments that I read about in Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise, test scores increased dramatically and behavior improved dramatically. They actually strapped heart rate monitors on these kids and had them do the kind of exercise that is actually beneficial every morning before school, not the kind where you can go off and socialize in a corner if you wish.

In one study, behavioral problems decreased 80 ****ing percent, just because they had students getting exercise. Nutrition is probably a problem as well. How the hell do you expect these kids to do well in school if they have no outlet for all the energy they get from the excess calories and garbage they consume at school? Of course they're going to pick fights and get into trouble if they have no outlet or prevention for their fight or flight impulses.

More time isn't the answer. One school didn't even increase math and science class times, but they implemented a good exercise regime, and that school's test scores have outdone many Asian test scores, including Singapore's, I think.

In order to learn, one's body, which includes the mind, needs to be in a state that's conducive to learning. Exercise and proper nutrition helps enormously with that.