In recent days, President Obama said that he would like to see public school days lengthened by possibly two hours and the school year longer with a shorter summer. Obama said, “The challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom.” Obama’s reasoning comes from the idea that students who spend more time in school will test higher and be better able to compete with the rest of the world. Obama specifically cites South Korea as an example of an academically successful country with longer school days and school years.
In my opinion, Obama’s intentions are incredibly valid and well directed. America has a student population that is increasingly failing classes and dropping out of school, along with falling test standards. As well as proposing his plan of longer school, Obama said that we, as a country, need to be more motivated to stay in school and to do our best on tests. Ultimately, we need to be productive and personally responsible for the amount of work that we accomplish.
I agree with part of Obama’s plan. I think that having a shorter summer with longer breaks throughout the school year would benefit students. Much of the beginning of the school year consists of review due to the loss of information over the summer. However, what I do not fully agree with is longer school days. As it stands now, I feel like I don’t have enough hours in the day and spending an extra two at school will do nothing to help the situation. Dealing with school, sports, and homework, most students, such as senior Meme Garcia, are in the same predicament. Garcia has a rigorous school schedule, after school drama practice, and plenty of homework. Like many seniors, AP classes are on the agenda, and the workload that comes with them is overwhelming. Not to mention our social lives that we desperately try to cling to.
I also have trouble with Obama’s claim that students in other countries are better off than American students due to increased time spent in school. This past summer, I spent a month in Japan on an exchange with a Japanese teenager. My exchange brother, who was still attending school while I was there, was continuously working on homework and was usually up until two a.m. in the morning working on homework. To give him credit, he was doing exceptionally well in school. However, he had very little time for his social life and was exhausted from lack of sleep.
On the other hand, Principal Susan Hanson has seen how longer school hours can be for the better. Hanson taught in Great Britain during the 1970s and summers were about a month long with breaks within the school year of two or three weeks apiece. Students returning from summer break did not have to do as much reviewing because they didn’t lose information like most American students do.
The issue that really affects us all though is how our already struggling deficits will handle more pay for teachers who would be working longer hours. Most likely, federal aid or compensation would be given to school districts, but then how will the federal government pay for increased spending on education?
Whatever the outcome, the many opinions and views on how we should proceed with our struggling educational system can only help create a more successful and competitive America.
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