Pesident Obama is bringing to light nationally a debate that has gone on locally for eons – should schools be year round? Not only is Barama leaning towards recommending it, there are also reports out that he wants to lengthen each school day.
The main benefits are touted as being more instruction equals more learning and better test scores, less downtime to forget what was learned the previous year, and a reduced need for parents to spend money on summertime childcare. Key complaints raised so far include the economic destruction of the summertime tourist industry, not giving children a chance to take a break to recharge, and finding money to keep schools operating more days when education funding already sucks.
When I look at this I don’t take an economic viewpoint for once. On education I think the problems we have are more societal than financial. I see a system where a less than quality teacher can survive long enough to become locked into a position that may not be deserved (I’m avoiding the “T” word). I see a system where too many children do not have parents involved with either their school or their schoolwork. I also see a system where children are not taught to think critically and independently, but to learn the answers to standardized testing.
(I have a bunch of teacher friends, and I know that most of them are great teachers. I’m not pointing the finger at you guys, but at the ones who give half-assed efforts in the classroom and then bitch about their kids in the teacher’s lounge.)
Until we make sure that sub-par teachers are replaced with quality teachers; until we can get parents or guardians involved and interested in their child’s schooling; and until we can teach children how to learn and improve their minds and abilities themselves, our schools will never improve. All the extra days and hours spent in the schoolhouse won’t mean a thing until we improve the quality of the product coming through the doors when the bell rings.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 5:57 pm and is filed under Current Events, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
