The concept of making the school day longer and keeping schools open on the weekend really, really upsets me. I’m not even teaching yet and it still upsets me.
From the teacher perspective- I can’t help but wonder how they expect teachers to work 13+ hour days, manage to plan an prepare for said 13+ hour days, then throw in an extra day of work on top of each week and several days more per year. Does this profession not already have one of the highest burnout and lowest retention rates as it is? Are they planning on compensating teachers for this extra time- and what about a teacher’s family, will teachers be able to even maintain a family of their own with these kind of professional obligations?? I feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about this...
What about students- Why is childhood no longer valued? Children need to experience imaginative play, social interactions with their peers and they need an opportunity to explore the world on their own. They are already faced an adult life sentance of 50-60 years of working long hours and growing unhealthy from lack of movement and high levels of stress- I am so completely opposed to taking away the experience of childhood- it’s a time to be treasured. There is so much to learn in those moments which can not be taught in school. Plus, how is a child to remain engaged in learning for 3 MORE hours a day? They need to burn off that energy. They should not have to sit in class for 10-11 hours, then go home, eat, do homework and sleep. Play time is essential to a child’s health and well being.
The list of reasons why this is just another band aid on a much deeper wound could probably go on and on. And what about the expense? I understand that parents these days have to work long hours and sometimes multiple jobs to make ends meet, but keeping schools open longer, later and for more days per year costs more money, which means higher taxes, which equals more economic woes for American families. Why, when it comes to government, is it always quantity over quality? I just don’t get it. It seems that there are so many more logical and effective ways to restructure education… but what do I know. I am aware that there are two sides to this argument, but I have to agree with many teachers when they say that the people who make these decisions are not thinking about what it takes to carry them out, and those who are left with the massive responsibility of this task do not get adequate input in the decision.
I apologize for this very venting post, but this has been bothering me all day since they were talking about Obama's plan on the news this morning. I can only imagine all of you have strong opinions as well. Feel free to share your point of view, I am open to hearing it, whichever side you take.
Well of course in theory, those longer days should be spread out over more teachers, and those teachers would all have more planning time. Of course, the opposite is happening, which is why this will never work and, without a fundamental shift in the basic logistics of every school out there, will not happen any time soon either.
ReplyDeleteWhat's more ridiculous is that schools are current squeezing more "instructional time" (and I put that in quotes because, of course, there's so much wasted time in there) from the same amount of teachers (or less) and the same amount of school hours. Planning time, department time, lunch and so forth are reduced or eliminated; even more so as key standardized tests approach. It's just maddening.