Monday, April 29, 2013

Longer Day Not The Answer

A longer school day is not the answer to helping students.

Even in a motivated class, kids burn out after a while.  I used to run all day tutoring sessions before the AP.  The kids wanted to be there but after 4 hours, nothing went in and stayed in.

And, when kids don't want to be there, nothing will help the material sink in.

This is just another attempt to make it look like the city is doing something to help its students.

2 comments:

burntoutteacher said...

And in that longer day, there is still no mention of art, music, gym, etc., all the subjects that make one an educated and well-rounded person, because those subjects can't be tested.

lgm said...

Hm? In my district music is being tested. The students must show they have learned scales, rhythms, and lots and lots of italian nomenclature as well as some theory. Of course most of them have not been taught in any way other than experiential.

Gym was tested in my day. One had a performance test and a written test. I had to memorize many peices of data that were trivial to my life, such as the length of the side of a volleyball court and the point structure of flag football.

Art is also tested here. Knowledge of different styles, techniques, etc.

imho we need to sit down and realize there is no Royal Road. If a child is going to come to school with little language and no number sense, he's going to have a long haul. Maybe the answer is to exit everyone at the tenth grade level, with some of those being age 21 and others being 14. Offer summer school. Let people choose their destiny, but cut off the 'free' after 21.