Proponents of more class time for America's youth say this would help close achievment gaps by giving teachers more time with all students. Opponents argue that more time in mediocre or lousy schools does not necessarily mean better outcomes. Should the school day be longer?
Edited by Steve St. Angelo
Yes
Should American students go to school for more time, less time, or the same amount of time as
Christopher Gabrieli is chairman of the National Center on Time and Learning and coauthor of the book Time to Learn.
they have for most of the past century? The answer is that they should go to school for the time needed to gain the core academic skills and well-rounded education necessary to thrive as individuals and to succeed in today's complex society and high-skills economy.
Students need enough time to learn to read and write well and to handle math comfortably. But they also need time to master science...
No
More money. More teachers. More time. The oldest recipe for school improvement is "more."
Frederick M. Hess is director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and author of Tough Love for Schools.
Popular today is the push to extend the school day. With champions like Sen. Edward Kennedy, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and President Obama, advocates are ready to spend whatever it takes to add more time to the school day. The president recently declared that "the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."
"More" is a winning political strategy....
What do you think?
Reader Comments Read all comments (62)
Bonnie Lamphere of NY 10:52PM May 29, 2012
scorpio 4:53AM May 01, 2012
Andy Hernandez of CA 7:02PM April 27, 2012