Posted on 09/29/2009 10:00:08 AM PDT by Nachum
If the academic year gets pushed deeper into summer, as President Obama is advocating, the grumbling will not be limited just to students and teachers who will be forced to spend more days in school.
Critics say the president's call for a longer academic calendar and a shorter summer vacation will bring on a host of unintended consequences -- including increased costs for school systems, major cuts to the nation's hotel and tourism industries, and a serious blow to summer camp operators.
Obama says kids in the U.S. spend too little time in the classroom, putting them at a disadvantage when competing with students in other countries. The president has suggested that making school days longer and extending the school year will increase learning, raise test scores and close the achievement gap.
But while Obama's proposal is meant to improve education, critics say a curtailed summer vacation will have a dire economic impact on school systems, which could be forced to retrofit their schools for air conditioning, pay overtime to teachers and incur higher utility costs
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The list, ping
More time to indoctrinate.
Let me see here. My school district this year cut three days from our work year. Now, Obozo wants to increase the number of days and the number of hours per day that students are in school. So, those of us working in public education are going to be expected to work more time, but for less pay?????
Not only that, but there will be a lack of kids available for summer employment.
His rapidly falling poll numbers have convinced him that he needs more time to indoctrinate our kids.
WHAT A GREAT PRESIDENT WE HAVE...
...not...
I would support year round school if it wasn’t for the fact that I know that most of the schools in America waste a lot of time as it is stepping outsides the bounds of “reading, writing and arithmetic”.
Outside of the fact that it would devastate the tourism industry, consider the cost to air condition schools or the energy costs of running those air conditioners.
And talk to me about kids in Arizona and Texas riding to school on unairconditioned buses in the middle of July.
I have come to the conclusion that WHATEVER this guys suggests we do, we should instead do exactly the opposite and we’ll be just fine.
That being said, I think the problem lies in the quality of education American children receive, not the quantity.
That’s the intent. Break the country and in so doing, indoctrinate!
“Obama says kids in the U.S. spend too little time in the classroom, putting them at a disadvantage when competing with students in other countries.”
This is actually a misconception.
While American kids spend fewer days in school, they spend more hours than even places like Japan.
Interesting.
Besides, I thought our public schools were failing? If they suck for 9 months out of the year, will 10 or 11 months be a good idea?
Don’t forget more time to waste, in my experience there could be a great deal more value added.
While quality is most assuredly a huge problem, the long summer break is as well. Most of the first semester each year is spent remembering all the stuff they need from last year to move forward. I think it would be a much better system to get 2 weeks or so off every quarter and let them go year round. It is my preferred method for homeschooling as well.
This is the underlying pressure behind all of these measures -- including not only extending the school year, but starting school earlier in childhood, extending the school day, serving more meals at school, etc.
The tendency by both parties to leap into nice sounding ideas based on shallow and narrow thinking without deeper consideration of the wide range of ramifications and longer term consequences is amazing. Stupid people do this a lot.
Which if you combine the two facts seems to indicate that frankly a slightly longer school year (maybe 15 days) combined with a slightly shorter school day by an hour or so is the best solution.
A better choice would be to emulate Finland’s exceptional educational system in its on emphasis high teacher quality and a demanding curriculum. That would, of course, require breaking the teacher unions and their deadly grip on American education.
How come schools used to be able to do the job with just 180ish days a year of instruction?
Problem is...the stupid people don’t even know what they don’t know.
All they know is that they are superior and those who oppose them are dumb hicks.
It’s a good point and the same thinking can be applied to spending and taxes.
The left loves spending and taxes - when things get bad they apply more as things get worse and worse.
And with education - not getting the job done right? Let’s add more of the same stuff that’s causing the problem in the first place!
So, let's compare salaries based upon work days. Let's not go into the triviliaties of which degree is rougher, education, chemistry, bio-sciences, physics, engineering, law and such. Let's stick to the numbers.
Teachers work a theoretical 170 days, everyone else gets 240. So Teachers work 170/241; or 70.5% of what everyone else works. But wait, that's not fair. Teachers also get vacation time during the school year, because spring and fall break, a month off over Christmas and 3 months over the summer are not enough.
Allowing for this, we find that teachers actually work about 33% fewer days than anyone else. An added plus, is that after as few as 3 years, they cannot be fired - no matter how poorly they perform their job. Wouldn't that be nice?
Or, you could go here and see how rough they have it.
Imagine, paid more than a comparable state worker, getting 15 weeks of paid vacation a year, and having tenure after just 3 years.
I think it’s now apparent that there is no area of our lives that BHO doesn’t think he can manage better than we.
If he’s as smart a some people pretend, he would have known this. Or, he knows and he wants to screw the economy anyway.
So how’s that HOPE and CHANGE working out? Muahahaha
maybe if they quit teaching kids to sing......."Barrack Hussein Obama, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm"......then they could actually teach reading, writing and 'rithmatic.
My son asked me last night if I could homeschool him - if this came about. I don’t think this is going to go over well with anyone. Kids have a life after 3:00 - sports, being with their families, doing homework, maybe a pt job, or just playing and being children.
This administration seems to think that all kids are in situations like those kids in Chicago we saw in the video. He’s spent so much time community organizing that he doesn’t understand life outside of urban dwelling. Many, many children are being raised well, involved in academics, sports, and are handling responsibility. But, he only concentrates on the problems and lumps all the other children together.
because back thrn, they were for education.
Yeah, it would be too funny if it weren’t so serious.
Mr. Obama: Omnia Quae Scis Falent!
Aw crap there goes that logic stuff again. Where are my magic powers Soros promised me?
It would be a stimulus bill for Hollywood because the demand for more DVDs would skyrocket to fill the extra time.
Our students attend school more hours than the students in countries that are out performing ours. It’s not about sending more dollars, it’s not about more hours in school. It is about what is now and has been for the last 20 years, been taught and what has been left out. Longer hours simply means more hours to indoctrinate them.
Weep for your Children America, they are coming for your children.
I’d think we’d want to get a higher percentage of students passing what they get now, and graduating.
The extended school year would have great economic, social benefit for a nation of free people IF the students would actually learn more history, math, science, geography, English, etc. They should learn about triple what they presently learn — and they could do that since they don’t learn much now.
I was raised in a year-round school system comprised of three "tracks" with each track having two short breaks a year (vice one long one) and everyone getting the various holidays off. I thought it was wonderful! It kept classes small and teachers employed year round. It also made it easier for high school kids to find jobs as there were always young people available for employment during the weekdays.
After I graduated, my school district returned to the traditional model. I never understood why. Year-round seemed to have so many advantages.
any homeschooling moms out there? I always figured that without all the “extra” stuff kids get that a home-schooled kid could be done before noon each day with all his class work complete. how far off am I?
bump
“More time to indoctrinate.”
Nah! Our President must be planning to use that extra month to round out the kiddie’s education by adding math, science, reading, and history to their curriculum.
Gosh, when I was in high school (many moons ago) I went to school from 8:10 until 12:20 and had my 4 majors, 2 periods of PE, 1 health and a 2 period elective in that time.
The problem isn’t that the school year is long enough. The problem is that nothing is being taught during those nine months.
Obama says kids in the U.S. spend too little time in the classroom, putting them at a disadvantage when competing with students in other countries.
Hmmmm...somewhat true. Japan and Europe's children do spend 230, 210 days, respectively, in school versus our 180 days....BUT the Obama statement above should correctly state...
kids in the U.S. spend too little of their time in the classroom on basic/advanced academic skills...
More time with the kids to brainwash them
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