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Yes. I'm on the team that plans the calendar. Continuity is necessary for my students' success, as they have autism spectrum disorders and respond poorly to inconsistent schedules and lengthy gaps in opportunities to generalize mastered skills.
Thanks for the classy word choice, re: "normal" students, though. Mad props.
Then what would you prefer? Typical, usual, moderate, mediocre, generic student? Guess there's no pleasing everyone with word choice, any way you poke it will be 'offensive' to someone.
(EDIT: and yes, I'm totally serious on that question.)
That would require a drastic change in how we respect our teachers and beliefs in the USA about education. I mean, when we start regarding teachers in a similar manner to doctors, then maybe we're on the right track.
Yes it would. A big issue with our system is no one respects teachers. Not students, not parents, not admins and not the politicians who set educational policy. It was just this past year that the govenor of Michigan had a secret committee to revamp education that, DELIBERATELY, had no educators on the committee. Even our opinons about education are not welcome. We're viewed as over paid baby sitters who are out to screw the system.
When you value education, you, naturally, value those who offer education to you... A teacher can dream....
I think we need to add, at least, three weeks to the school year. IMO, we should start back the first week of August and add a week break between first and second quarters in October, two weeks at the semester break in December and spring break after 3rd quarter wraps up.
3 more weeks is one more unit taught for me. Placing breaks at the ends of quarters is less disruptive to education. Lengthening the year means more material taught and shortening summer means less material forgotten. The summer break would still be 7 weeks long for the and 6 weeks long for the teachers. IMO, that's plenty of time off.
I also don't even agree with the premise that we other countries are doing things in regards to education that superior to what we're doing. There are other issues at play that render these international comparisons essentially moot.
I also don't even agree with the premise that we other countries are doing things in regards to education that superior to what we're doing. There are other issues at play that render these international comparisons essentially moot.
IMHO, I don't think it's too short, I just think that:
- The vacations should not be the same as now (3 months in the summer, not much the rest of the school year). Kids are exhausted but don't get good breaks. Then they stay away from school too long (for those who don't have parents who make them work over the summer)
- The school day should be different (longer lunch break and recess, no classes before 8). Of course I'm talking about the schools I know here, things may be different depending on the state/county.
IMHO, I don't think it's too short, I just think that:
- The vacations should not be the same as now (3 months in the summer, not much the rest of the school year). Kids are exhausted but don't get good breaks. Then they stay away from school too long (for those who don't have parents who make them work over the summer)
- The school day should be different (longer lunch break and recess, no classes before 8). Of course I'm talking about the schools I know here, things may be different depending on the state/county.
But if you had year round schools, you could slow the pace. The problem, right now, is we're trying to cram 40 weeks of curriculum into about 30 weeks of school (by the time you account for reviewing what kids SHOULD already know, ramping up at the beginning of the year, kids checking out before breaks (just try teaching something new the week before Christmas break ), half days, snow days, holidays, final exam weeks, state testing weeks....). We have to race and even then we don't get it all in. If you want the content you've given me to teach taught, I need more time.
My content is broken up into 12 units intended to be taught in 3 weeks each and I cannot teach it all. Why? Because I spend the first week of school (our first four day week) on procedures, checking out lab drawers, checking out books....then the next 4 reviewing things my students SHOULD already know like metric conversions, significant figures, atomic structure and kinetic molecular theory. It's week 5 before we START my content IF I'm lucky. Some years it's week 6. With 38 weeks of school (two of them finals weeks), I'm 5 weeks behind by mid October. In November, we have three days off of school, then comes December (what moron decided to put a two week break, three weeks before final exams ) ...Just TRY teaching something new the week before Christmas. And it will be a few days before kids are back up to speed after that two week break. Then it's review time for finals...so take off another 2 weeks of lost teaching time.
Quarter 3 is a cluster. We start with a day off, then toss in two more early February...then we start pulling kids for state test prepping and lost about four days of instructional time...then comes the tests themselves..."theoretically" we have our students for two days that week but nothing new is getting taught the way they break it up (The kids have school on Monday, testing Tuesday, testing half the day on Wednesday and Thursday and then no school on Friday). So take two more weeks off for state testing. Seriously, why can't state testing take place the week after school gets out in June? Then comes quarter 4, which is the first time during the year since September/October that we go for lengths of time with 5 day school weeks....this is when the students start complaining that we're speeding up because we slacked earlier in the year....nope....we're just back to 5 day school weeks and they're not used to that.
You know, the current length of year might be just fine IF we really had that length of year.... We don't. I'd love to try one year where school actually met 5 days per week except for breaks and breaks would be the entire week when you take them. None of this one foot in and one foot out. Either you're on break or you're in school.
Parents, I challenge you to take out a calendar and start marking off the holidays, half days and other interruptions to teaching that take place regularly. Then highlight the weeks where we actually have 5 days to teach. It will shock you. Our school year is much shorter than you think it is.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 06-18-2013 at 01:22 PM..
Poverty, for instance. These international test comparisons do nothing to adjust for the fact that the U.S. has a childhood poverty rate that is several times larger than any other Westernized country. (When comparing apples-to-apples, the U.S. actually moves up the list quite a bit.)
Those that tout these comparisons also fail to point out that the United States was never #1. In fact when the first comparison came out in the 1960s, we were 11th out of 12 countries.
Finally, different international tests have produced different ratings, indicating there is not a universal truth that can be gleaned from the comparisons. There are different ways of measuring student learning and achievement.
Ultimately, whenever these ratings come out, I don't get worked up either way because there are a number of factors at play that determine where each countries rates; factors that go well beyond the quality of the actual educational system in each country. Not to say that we can't improve education in this country or that we shouldn't try, just that it's not some sort of a crisis that requires privatization of our schools and draconian action taken against teachers.
As a parent of 4 and teacher, I have some strong opinions on what I have observed over my years as a mom and teacher:
A longer school year will not benefit the kids I teach. Americans do not value education the way other countries do. Many kids come in late, leave early for ridiculous reasons (shopping, going to the beach, went out to breakfast) on a regular basis. Parents do not work with kids at home. Kids come into kindergarten not knowing their abcs, how to spell their name, unable to identify shapes, colors, etc. When we bust our behinds to teach kids and nothing is reinforced at home, it doesn't matter how long we teach. They go home to tv and video games, not books and conversation. They are behind when they come in and therefore are always struggling to catch up, even with interventions. I know this from years of experience.They are so under-informed when they come to school that they cannot retain much of what we teach. If you've never taught in this type of setting, you wouldn't believe it. Engaging, hands-on lessons, songs, you name it, they still don't get it.
I am teaching at a year-round school and have to do just as much reviewing after a 3 week break as a 10 week break. The low-income kids just do not perform as well. The students with educated parents can soar through with less time in school. It's not school time as much as environmental factors.
But my main concern is my own kids are so drained at the end of the day and have hours of homework a night. They do not have time to play, run an errand with me, have a friend over, or take lessons of any kind. It's homework for hours every night. I get tired from all of the homework. My kids have no time to be kids. Then we lose weeks to test prep and test administration that should be spent teaching-now that is wasted time in school. Add to that daily time-wasters like announcements where kids absently recite the pledge, school mission, etc, plus transitions, bathroom breaks, long lunch lines, etc and a good hour of each day is gone when you add up the minutes. It's frustrating.
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), half days, snow days, holidays, final exam weeks, state testing weeks....). We have to race and even then we don't get it all in. If you want the content you've given me to teach taught, I need more time. 
We don't. I'd love to try one year where school actually met 5 days per week except for breaks and breaks would be the entire week when you take them. None of this one foot in and one foot out. Either you're on break or you're in school.
