Posted by Referring to this article on MSNBC.com.
The paragraphs that got a chuckle out of me are as follow:
“Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here,” Duncan told the AP. “I want to just level the playing field.”
While it is true that kids in many other countries have more school days, it’s not true they all spend more time in school.
Kids in the U.S. spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests — Singapore (903), Taiwan (1,050), Japan (1,005) and Hong Kong (1,013). That is despite the fact that Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong have longer school years (190 to 201 days) than does the United States (180 days).”
Well at least we are solving the real problem.
then the equation boils down to “what is the ROI per instructional hour?”
this fledgling algorithm would be remiss if one didn’t overlay the drop-out and truancy rates (focused upon students) as well as a comprehensive valuation performed upon teacher certificates vs. teaching credentials globally. and then let us not forget a look at value in comparison between public and private US-based education.
personally, i believe getting away from the agrarian-based school calendar is only about 60 years late in its arrival. however, a primary obvious question lingers… by doing this are we simply forcing a potentially-brilliant student to sit longer in front of a freaking idiot teacher?
i’ve several beloved teachers with whom i can still remember their middle names after 25 years. they truly taught me how to love learning. however, i have a larger group with which i remember obviously specialized in licking windows during class. i particularly remember the mental pain becoming quite physical whilst witnessing their inability to articulate even the most rudimentary of lessons. Unfortunately, for a student entitled “easily bored/daydreams a lot/draws pictures during class” was like handing over a book of matches and a gallon of gasoline with the only instructions being “… hey kid, be sure not to leave your used matches on the floor”.
perhaps we should start the educational system anew?