March 13, 2007

A Longer School Day?

By Bob Myer
In some places in the US, as well as in the UK, schools are either considering or experimenting with extending school hours.  In Massachusetts, the extended school day is suggested as a possible remedy for schools who fail to meet No Child Left Behind benchmarks.  In the UK, extended school hours may remedy a lack of quality childcare, thus allowing parents to work longer hours without worrying where their children are.But one has to look to the other side of the scale to see what is potentially being replaced by longer school hours.  What purpose is being served by extending school hours to eight or ten hours a day?  What roles are shifted between teachers and parents, between homes and schools?There is a potential to use extended school days as a holding pen for kids in which teachers become baby sitters instead of educators.  Creating meaningful, expanded and extended learning opportunities takes a lot of time, effort and care.  Without the time and...(Read Full Article)