I have been thinking about doing this for a while, adding a polling feature to 2¢ Worth. Commenting is hard and time consuming, but taking a quick survey may be a better way to get people’s feelings about an issue.
A perfect issue came up this morning, with a link through EduTopia to this NYTimes article about schools and districts that are considering lengthening the school day in order to improve test scores.
Failing Schools See a Solution in Longer Day – New York Times:
States and school districts nationwide are moving to lengthen the day at struggling schools, spurred by grim test results suggesting that more than 10,000 schools are likely to be declared failing under federal law next year.
So, what do you think? The survey widget to the right will likely remain there for about a week. Please take the time to vote, yes or no, and check back every once in a while to see the results.
My best students day:
7-2pm: Regular School
2-5:00pm: Track practice
6-8:00pm: band rehearsal
8-11pm: homework
Perhaps we don’t need a longer “school day”. Perhaps we need more quality activities?
David…
Love the polling feature, but I am still more of a word guy then a click of a button guy to try and express myself. It still pains me that our educational governmental bureaucracies think that standardized testing, rancid with people who are out of touch with the classrooms anyways, think they know what works and how to get our students involved in their own educations. Until we can figure that last piece out, yes, we are destined for educational failure.
I voted No…a longer day would probably be just more of the same…
I vote NO too – unless something was drastically done with the time spent during a usual school day now. Personally, I see a lot of wasted time which needs to be adjusted and remedied before we even add more time.
As for polling — I like the idea — but then I always enjoy widgets and sidebar activity!
Jen
I like the polling feature. I might have to check that out for LeaderTalk.org!
The longer school day is kind of like summer school in my mind. If we used the time for something different, I’d be all for it. But if, as the folks above me have noted, it’s just more of the same, then why bother? I can’t stand seeing kids in summer school where they’re just being exposed to the same teaching methods and same curricula as they experienced during the year when they weren’t successful…
Dave,
This is not a Yes/No question. It all depends upon how that longer day is being utilized. Are there other question options beside just Yes and No?
Karen is absolutely correct. If the quality of instruction time were improved, in some way, shorter days might even be better than longer days? Educational change should be based on high quality research. I’d love to have a deeper understanding of the research that supports longer school days.
Andrew Pass
http://www.pass-ed.com/blogger.html
Oh, NOW I get it! The reason my students aren’t learning all this trivia they won’t use after high school is that they don’t have enough TIME! Maybe lengthening the school day will force them to understand that being a cog in this sputtering, industrial revolution-era machine is paramount. No need to be a free-thinking individual – that’s not on The Test! Thank you, New York Times, for enlightening me.
Okay, you did indeed inspire me. Our first LeaderTalk.org poll is now up and running! Thanks, David. Sometimes it’s the little things that get us excited!
David,
I agree that this is not a yes/no question; however, I voted yes. I did so, because many students need time to digest and mull over what they have encountered for the day. They need time to practise what they have learned. They need time to “do” something with what they have learned, so they can remember it for the next time they need that knowledge or skill. Many students do not go home to an environment that provides that time and opportunity for reflection and thinking. If the school day were longer–and it does not have to mean more instruction–but longer to provide a safe place to “do homework,” have time to talk to the teacher one-on-one, or have time for peer tutoring, then it could be beneficial. Too often, teachers assume students will do homework, when in fact, many cannot–they are just trying to survive.
Robert
Has the length of the school day been the same “forever”. Is this like summer vacation–impossible to change?
Lengthening the school day would probably go the way of year-round school, anyway. Although summer break was originally built in for an agrarian society which is no longer the majority, and research has shown that students retention rates are better with shorter and more frequent breaks, attempts at lengthening the school year were thwarted by the tourism industry. Some other business(es) with a mind toward profit and the ear of the legislature would thwart this as well.
I’m not saying that I agree with lengthening the school day…I do not, for the very same reasons stated above. It just amazes me that, as Tom said, the government is so out of touch with what is really happening in the classroom and so quick to jump at a solution which would just be more time for drill and kill and would have no regard for student needs and methodology of instruction.
As a parent, I can’t see this as anything but frustrating. You’re taking my kids away from me and the law says I can’t do anything about it unless I home school them
The conversation shouldn’t focus on the length of the day, but what happens during that time.
Here’s another issue with how we structure secondary education… Cognitive Load. CL theory essentially says that our brains need time to process infomation in our “working memory” before it can be stored in “long-term memory”.
We move students from subject to subject every 55 minutes or so, 6-7 times a day, expecting (hoping) that they will develop deep understanding and meaning in each. Does this “assembly line” structure for learning truely give students time to really think?
Maybe an alternative structure would be that a high school student takes 2-3 courses for a 6-8 week term. This could give them a lighter “cognitive load” and allow them to dig deeply into concepts and ideas that are improtant to them (and important as determined by standards).
Absolutely not. Kids are already in school long enough as it is. In fact, we could probably truncate the school day if we just reorganized and started teaching the way kids learn best. Seriously… how many of us learn one subject at a time anymore? I learn best when I’m able to make connections from one topic to another. Separating science and math and history and grammar and world languages… that only helps kids (maybe) prepare for tests, not knowledge or learning.
I have to agree with those who commented that what matters more is WHAT is being done during the school day, not how long it is. In our education system, maybe in our society as a whole, we seem to think that you make things “better” by doing it more or longer. My feeling is that if it isn’t working, we don’t need to do more of the same, we need to do things differently. Remember that old Apple campaign, “Think Different?” Maybe we need not to teach more, but to Teach Different!
Hmmm, I guess I’m one of the few responding to your blog question, not the actual poll. As a reader who keeps up with your 2 Cents Worth via my RSS aggregator, I don’t typically view your actual page. Just a thought – those of us who participate via RSS might need to be prodded every now and then if you post a new poll, or we’ll probably miss it.
A longer day??? As a primary school teacher my days are long enough already! I bet the American Government will then add even more things to what they expect you to teach over there. So you won’t actually get more time to help the students learn, you will get more STUFF to teach. I disagree with the gentleman who voted yes and agree with the person who stated that our kids are out of our family homes for too long already. I know there are some people who have to work long hours, but that shouldn’t mean the rest of us can’t enjoy some time with our kids. I vote NO (cheeky I know since I’m in NZ) but usually what happens over there somehow makes its way over here.
More of the same won’t make a significant difference. If we gave students the time to produce information and to create, and collaborate the time would be well worth it. I’m sure that isn’t what they are considering in a longer day.
I also voted no for lengthening the day as all the kids I know already have super-busy schedule. However, I think lengthening school year as Heather briefly mentioned makes more sense to me. I grew up in Japan and our summer vacation was only 6 weeks and even that short break, we had to do some homework and book reviews to submit after summer vacation. Although it was not that much homework, it still helped me to retain what we learned in the previous year and also it was a good discipline for us to keep a regular study habit.
I voted no.
I’m not opposed to a longer school day – but make it for teachers, thus providing them with time to work collaboratively on planning. Give the students fewer, but more concentrated time working with the best prepared teachers.
If your cake recipe is not good, leaving it longer in the oven won’t make it taste better.
Think of it from a parent’s perspective. I remember when my daughter started kindergarten, I was very upset with school encroaching on my time with her. The teacher wanted her to do reading *homework*. Uh, we read every night, and not the drivel they were sending home for her to read. So I would have only about 3 hours per day with her, and part of that was consumed with dinner, leaving us with 2 hours, and then time getting ready for bed, and well, you get the idea. Kids need *less* time in school and more time with their *families*. The problem is, a lot of parents don’t like spending time with their own kids and so they can’t wait until they start school. The state is doing a very good job of destroying families, and school is its primary weapon.
What about this?
http://www.whs.school.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=133&Itemid=96
Our school lengthened the school day by 45 minutes this year. My eighth period consistently scores 10 points lower on chapter tests than my 1st period, both are Honors Geometry classes. We demand more of kids in extra curricular activities and we ask less of parents in supporting academics, it’s out of balance. I believe American students need a more rigorous curriculum but I don’t think more time will make this happen, it will only make mentally tired students and teachers. Ã thought I would be in the minority and I was surprised when I viewed the results in the poll. Thank you for this poll. Deborah
a thought on your poll: you could probably use a link beneath the poll to the post where you prompted it, so if people wanted to comment or see the background but weren’t there for the original post (or are revisiting it), they could.
Count me firmly in the minority on this one, albeit for reasons other than test scores. In our district, most kids are from families with a single, working parent or two working parents. Most leave school and go home to unsupervised homes, which then allows them to get into trouble. I’d view it as a means to keep these kids from at least an hour or so of making mischief. Additionally, when I was in the classroom, I ALWAYS yearned for more time with the kids. There are many distractions and interruptions in the school day, and I forever longed to have more time to accomplish greater things with my students. Anyone who thinks kids already spend enough/too much time at school needs to poll the kids. My room was filled with kids after school each day–kids free to leave at their leisure. Kids want to learn, despite what they say in front of their friends, and most would ultimately relish the chance to stay. Imagine the enrichment that could be done with an extra hour each day! I guess I’m a little less jaded.
Now, all that being said, if a school wanted to add an hour and a half of test tutorials to the end of the day, I’d start looking for other work.