Obama Proposes More School, Less Summer
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October 9, 2009
Filed under News
For this generation of students to remain competitive with their international peers when they reach adulthood, we need to be spending more time in school. Last month President Barrack Obama proposed that American school children extend their time in class, either by lengthening the school day or spending less time on summer vacation.
“We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day,” Obama said. “That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage. Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea. That is no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy.”
In fact, American children spend the least amount of time in the classroom when compared to other countries. Currently, the school year length in the States must include at least 180 days. Advocates are pushing for a 200-day school year, which would align with Thailand, Scotland and the Netherlands, and leave us a close second with Israel, South Korea and Japan, who leads with a 243-day school year.
“We do need to compete, and step our game up, but throwing days at it isn’t going to change anything. We have bigger educational issues such as student apathy and technology. You can increase the days, but it won’t change anything,” said Janet Prather, science teacher.
Obama made it very clear that education is on his hot-list of priorities. He admits the idea of spending more time in school is not “wildly popular,” but necessary.
He was applauded for his amount of knowledge regarding the public education system in the United States. He cited that one-third of the 13 and 14 year olds in our country cannot read at an appropriate level for their age, and that the eighth grade curriculum is two years behind competing nations. He said that part of the problem is our “race to the bottom” mindset, and that states are comfortable with lower standards for students.
“I think that kids not meeting the standards is ridiculous. It just makes Americans look dumb, but I don’t think that he should take away our summer because it’s not going to want to make us try any harder. The classes just need to have higher standards,” said junior, Emily Robbins.
Obama said that it is imperative that states use the stimulus package money to rebuild curriculum, increase teachers pay, improve school conditions, offer new technologies to students and even extend the school year to ensure that this generation can not only keep up with their international peers, but even surpass them in the professional environment of the coming decades.
WHO SPENDS THE MOST TIME IN SCHOOL?
- Japan- 243 days
- South Korea- 220 days
- Israel- 216 days
- Luxembourg- 216 days
- The Netherlands- 200 days
- Scotland- 200 days
- Thailand- 200 days
- Hong Kong- 195 days
- England- 192 days
- Hungary- 192 days
- Swaziland- 191 days
- Finland- 190 days
- New Zealand- 190 days
- Nigeria- 190 days
- France- 185 days
- United Stated- 180 days
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Danon Taylor
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