Obama says school year should be longer - States disagree

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama's call for a longer school day and year for America's kids echoes a similar call he made a year ago to little effect, illustrating just how deeply entrenched the traditional school calendar is and how little power the federal government has to change it.

Education reformers have long called for U.S. kids to log more time in the classroom so they can catch up with their peers elsewhere in the world, but resistance from leisure-loving teenagers isn't the only reason there is no mass movement to keep schoolchildren in their seats.

"If you extend the school year for, say, five days, you're paying for another week of salaries, another week of utilities and another week of fuel for, in South Carolina, 5,700 school buses," said Jim Foster, a spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Education.

Obama told NBC's Matt Lauer on the "Today" show Monday that the U.S. school year is too short.

"The idea of a longer school year, I think, makes sense,"Obama said.

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Countries with the best student achievement levels, including Japan, South Korea, Germany and New Zealand, average 197 days of instruction vs. 180 in the U.S. Thoughts?

i don't think we need more time in schools, i think we need BETTER time in schools. You have to get kids into what they're needing to learn. If you can get people to see that the things they're being taught relate to them directly and indirectly in different ways then i think the students would have more desire to learn.

I attended a year-round school in Hawaii and I have to say, it kind of kicked ass.

Although longer school hours aren't exactly what we need to do FIRST, what we need to do first is make schools BETTER so that students can actually learn something in any given stretch of time before we worry about how long those stretches are.

No. I don't think 17 days would make much of a difference, if any at all. And kids don't need to be in school all day either.

No. We don't need to work our children to death. I think school is too hard as it is these days.

Some schools around here are year round. I dislike year round as it really screws the kids out of having a summer. Yeah they get vacation time but their friends likely will not have the same vacation time they do. So instead of a couple months of fun with friends, you get a month of nothing to do because only you're out of school.

No. Half the losers in my school already want to drop out. Why should we give them another reason?

I'm not a U.S Citizien but the U.S school year is shorter then the Canadian one by about 10-15 days and has a higher percentage of graduates per capita by about 10-15% Increasing the school year isn't going to make the students any smarter. Infact there was a study showing that the average U.S IQ trumps the Canadian one by 1 point and we go to school longer (190 day school year compared to the 175-180 day U.S school year). Kind of hard to believe seeing as how some Americans can't even point there own country on a map.

I speak against the education system in general by saying class times are to long and weekends are to short. Spending 7-8 hours a day (+ a hour or two of homework) at school for 5/7 days of the week is simply to long. What they need to do is make classes shorter and give a extra day to the weekend. I think you would find smarter students if the education systems stopped putting so much pressure and work on the students and started school at 12pm and went to around 5pm (with a 1 hour break around 3pm) instead of so early in the morning. There are many studies that indicate a vast majority of teenagers go to school sleep deprived and it effects there learning capacity quite a bit. There is other studies indicating high amounts of stress and anxiety on high school students to.

I'm not saying to make the work any easier but to make the day a hour shorter and to start the day a bit later. This would lower the money the government needs to spend on education and up the learning capacity of teens who go to school by quite a bit.

My opinion anyways feel free to go all "IN MY DAY WHEN I WAS A YOUNG KID WE HAD TO____________" World is a lot harder now then it was back thirty years ago....hell you need post secondary education now unless you want to live with your parents for the rest of your life or in a crappy runned down apartment.

He doesn't really explain why he thinks it should be longer...

I don't think it will help...also, whoever said it was "almost a month"..way to exaggerate...i don't know any months that are ALMOST 17 days long...

He's right. While the system needs other serious overhauls, students will need to spend more time in school in order to increase the quality of education.

He's right. While the system needs other serious overhauls, students will need to spend more time in school in order to increase the quality of education.

Dark_Knight6

Longer year, more dropouts.

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

He's right. While the system needs other serious overhauls, students will need to spend more time in school in order to increase the quality of education.

Xx_Hopeless_xX

I'm pretty sure I never used the word "automatically".

He's right. While the system needs other serious overhauls, students will need to spend more time in school in order to increase the quality of education.

Dark_Knight6

I don't believe the school year needs to be longer, but I do believe it should be year round. As a person who has just got out of the public school system, I can tell you that you lose so much knowledge over the summer. With a 180 day year round system I believe that students will be less likely to forget what they learned.

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

He's right. While the system needs other serious overhauls, students will need to spend more time in school in order to increase the quality of education.

LJS9502_basic

Did you read anything in my post beyond the first sentence?

I don't believe the school year needs to be longer, but I do believe it should be year round. As a person who has just got out of the public school system, I can tell you that you lose so much knowledge over the summer. With a 180 day year round system I believe that students will be less likely to forget what they learned.

gatorteen

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"][QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

He's right. While the system needs other serious overhauls, students will need to spend more time in school in order to increase the quality of education.

Dark_Knight6

Did you read anything in my post beyond the first sentence?

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"] How is he right? It's not working now...so keep kids there longer? How does sitting more days at a desk increase the education? The days...yes. The actual education...no. Seems to me he doesn't know how to fix it so he latched on to more days.....LJS9502_basic

Did you read anything in my post beyond the first sentence?

A full year with a strong system will be more beneficial than nine months with a strong system.

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"][QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

Did you read anything in my post beyond the first sentence?

Dark_Knight6

A full year with a strong system will be more beneficial than nine months with a strong system.

When you have government involved...it's always substandard.LJS9502_basic

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]When you have government involved...it's always substandard.ihateaynrand

[QUOTE="ihateaynrand"][QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]When you have government involved...it's always substandard.LJS9502_basic

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"] Yeah...but I still don't see the need for more days. The system would be better spent with tax deductions for private education. When you have government involved...it's always substandard.LJS9502_basic

A full year with a strong system will be more beneficial than nine months with a strong system.

Relocate funding from defense to education. And 12 months will still offer a superior education. Over the course of high school, students will have gained an additional year over what they have now.

I think when you have to start limiting education on a massive scale (both in this example and in another sense with the massive cost of college) it is time to rethink how you are running your society...

Relocate funding from defense to education. And 12 months will still offer a superior education. Over the course of high school, students will have gained an additional year over what they have now.

Dark_Knight6

Why defense? We only spend 6% of GDP on defense, whereas total gov't spending is 45% of GDP.

Let's take out of other social programs first, and maneuver those funds into education.

Better yet, let's lower foreign aid - for a change - and put money in education.

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

Relocate funding from defense to education. And 12 months will still offer a superior education. Over the course of high school, students will have gained an additional year over what they have now.

topsemag55

Why defense? We only spend 6% of GDP on defense, whereas total gov't spending is 45% of GDP.

Let's take out of other social programs first, and maneuver those funds into education.

Better yet, let's lower foreign aid - for a change - and put money in education.

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"][QUOTE="ihateaynrand"]Do you have anything to back up that absurd generalisation?ihateaynrand

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

Relocate funding from defense to education. And 12 months will still offer a superior education. Over the course of high school, students will have gained an additional year over what they have now.

ihateaynrand

Why defense? We only spend 6% of GDP on defense, whereas total gov't spending is 45% of GDP.

Let's take out of other social programs first, and maneuver those funds into education.

Better yet, let's lower foreign aid - for a change - and put money in education.

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"][QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

A full year with a strong system will be more beneficial than nine months with a strong system.

Dark_Knight6

Relocate funding from defense to education. And 12 months will still offer a superior education. Over the course of high school, students will have gained an additional year over what they have now.

Let's take out of other social programs first, and maneuver those funds into education.

Better yet, let's lower foreign aid - for a change - and put money in education.

topsemag55

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]

Let's take out of other social programs first, and maneuver those funds into education.

Better yet, let's lower foreign aid - for a change - and put money in education.

markop2003

[QUOTE="ihateaynrand"][QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"] Education, medicare, social security, home loans, etc...LJS9502_basic

[QUOTE="markop2003"][QUOTE="topsemag55"]

Let's take out of other social programs first, and maneuver those funds into education.

Better yet, let's lower foreign aid - for a change - and put money in education.

LJS9502_basic

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]

Let's take out of other social programs first, and maneuver those funds into education.

Better yet, let's lower foreign aid - for a change - and put money in education.

markop2003

Cutting foreign aid is an even better idea...we need to funnel more tax dollars into our own nation instead of out.

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]

[QUOTE="ihateaynrand"]So that's a no then. Funny that you mention the US' healthcare system as if it were an example in your favour, by the way.ihateaynrand

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]And the tax burden incurred means the education will still lag behind due to lack of funding in many areas of the country. A 9 month quality education is achievable. LJS9502_basic

Relocate funding from defense to education. And 12 months will still offer a superior education. Over the course of high school, students will have gained an additional year over what they have now.

The system needs a major overhaul. This has to be the third time I am clarifying this in this thread. Increasing the duration of school after that overhaul will only serve to benefit students.

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"][QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

Relocate funding from defense to education. And 12 months will still offer a superior education. Over the course of high school, students will have gained an additional year over what they have now.

Dark_Knight6

The system needs a major overhaul. This has to be the third time I am clarifying this in this thread. Increasing the duration of school after that overhaul will only serve to benefit students.

I recall a lot of time being wasted while sitting in class in High School. I don't really think making school years longer would do anything.

I recall a lot of time being wasted while sitting in class in High School. I don't really think making school years longer would do anything.

ImaPirate0202

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"] We don't spend that much on defense when compared to the rest of the budget...and I'm not for shortchanging the defense of this country. If you want another year of school....and most children start at 3 or 4 now.....then add a year. Though I don't think it's necessary. It is not the amount of days that is the problem. It's the broken system.LJS9502_basic

The system needs a major overhaul. This has to be the third time I am clarifying this in this thread. Increasing the duration of school after that overhaul will only serve to benefit students.

And? You keep repeating the same rhetoric over and over again, ignoring fundamental parts of my point.