Should the School Day Be Longer?
Christopher Gabrieli and Frederick M. Hess debate in today's Two Takes.
Reader Comments
longer
days should be longer. if more time in school more classwork less homework.(duh)
still would have time to do extra sports and things.
who wants to fail and not even get a job
learn now or no job at all?
become a hobo? dont think so
School days shouldn't be longer.
I shouldnt be longer cause it would take time away from doing stuff with your family. Plus during summer the pools would brobably have a hard time. Im in 8th grade and i do like school but to much school is just to much stress. Then another thing if your in sports you will be there till who knows how long. Well thats my Opinion about it.
school
there shouldnt be extending school days
School days longer?
I am a strong objector to lengthening the school days. I am currently a high school senior and am very busy with homework, extracurriculars, college applications, and a job. I end up going to bed after midnight every night and get up at 5 for an early morning church class before school. I am busy enough, and taking away two more hours just isn't a smart thing to do. Nearly all of my friends have an after-school job. If school ended at 5 instead of 3, most of these students would not longer be able to work enough hours for them to keep their jobs. This will hurt the economy because most of the teens currently working will have to quit or be fired because they can't take as many hours as they need to. It would hurt me personally because I am working to earn money for college. Without the time I have afer school I won't be able to earn enough money, even working full time every summer. It's an extremely bad idea to lenghthen the school day, and will affect more then just the students.
longer school days?
I'm in 7th grade and i'm already stressed about homework, after school activities and I don't need longe school days. Some say that by extending the day by two hours it will give a chance for students to receive extra help and thus they will have to do less homework when they are at home. However, in some schools, students are offered time in the morning, at lunch and after school if they need any additional help with their homework. If their teacher is not available to them, another teacher who teaches the same course would be glad to help in whatever way they can. If a student is not able to attend these additional hours, they can just ask questions during class because half of the class is usually devoted to in-class work. What is the need when schools already conveniently provides extra help for its students? Besides studying and doing homework, students have other commitments after school. Many have an after school activity which requires them to be there a certain number of hours per day. Some students may have sports or another important activity after school.
Just say "No"
After reading all of the comments here I have concluded that at least one of the so called 7th grade students is not really who they say they are. (You know who I mean) While I mostly disagree with longer school days I do believe a small change is required. I am a college student and a mother of two (one is in K) and wife to a hard working husband. Take me for example. Longer school hours for me would have been miserable when I was in school. I graduated a semester early from high school because I couldn't stand the drama of the student body. When I was in school we had the choice for extra-curricular activities and after school courses, it was not mandatory. Those student that had the drive to learn chose those classes (such as R.O.P.) There were tutoring and study programs readily available for students that needed more help. My parents took an interest in my education and helped me with my studies when I needed it, and they also encouraged me to do well.
Now take my husband. When he was in school he had a slight learning disability, he suffered from dyslexia. His parents did not push him learn and instead required him to work around the house or with his dad on job sites. At school he never tried because the teachers thought he was slow and stuck him in a Special Ed class which made him even less interested in learning. No one took the time to figure out why he wasn't learning. Even when he didn't try he was given passing grades because of the class he was in. He ended up dropping out his Jr. year because hey, what the heck, no one really cared if he learned or not.
You see the difference. For my husband a longer school day would have been torture because the quality of his education was in the crapper. Longer days for me would have been torture because I already did well and just wanted to get out of the social drama at school and get home to be with my family.
Either way longer days would be bad news.
In today's society the parents have tried to make the teachers be entirely responsible for the education of their children. Whatever happened to Parent-Teacher conferences? Parent need to be woken up to their child's needs. Longer school days wont make parents be more responsible for their child's education, it will just make them more able to take it out on teachers when their child fails. Quality teaching is needed and quality parenting is needed even more. We had a saying growing up, "Think Long, think wrong." The more mentally exhausted you are the more mistakes you will make. Longer days will only add more stress to our society and bring more government involvement into our schools. Why don't we dispense of the stupid teachers unions and give the teachers back their voices. It's the unions that make it where there is no money going into the schools. Someone should be regulating them.
Anyway, to conclude: Longer school days are not the answer. Our under-educated society just needs more quality and drive, not more hours.
School can't take over!
I am in 7th grade and I do very well in school. I have nothing against school, infact, I actually kinda like it, but INCREASING SCHOOL HOURS IS RIDICULOUS! We are supposed to enjoy being young and if we increase school hours we will be working constantly for the rest of our lives. I mean we go to school to get a good job and and after we retire, we die. So where is the part where we have FUN?!
To make my point short and sweet:
School -> college -> job -> retire -> die
...where's the fun?
School Hours Should Be Increased
i am in the 7th grade and in one week ill be in the 8th grade. i think school hours should be increased. and i believe things will change for the better. the grades, less kids on the streets, and higher test scores. more school hours means children are in a safe environment and not just slacking off but learning. all that education in one day will go somewhere in a kids' head and it'll stay there especially if he/she is learning it for a longer period. yeah it might add a little stress but us kids will learn to handle it at a younger age. and its not like we have anything better to do at home. we stay on the computer and/or watch t.v. school will be a place where kids will learn to enjoy as time progresses. it wont hurt us in any way but help us a lot! increasing school hours will benifit us in many ways.
OK Mr. Retired Educator
I really don't think that we should drop ALL sports !
Sports could really help kids stay away from drugs and what not.
Do you really think that extending school hours could help the kids.
NO. Because better education comes from whether the student wants it or not.
And its not fair that the "smart" kids stay in school just because the "stupid" kids dont do well in school.
Thats just LAME.
If they do make school days longer, I think that the one that dont do well should stay in school for the additional time.
