For more information on the subject or to read the article please use the following link: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/09/28/obama_wants_nations_children_to_spend_more_time_in_school/
It seems that our President wants American students to spend more time in schools. I am not totally sure that this is the way to go, but I am not entirely against it. Like any other situation, I definitely need more information from both sides of the argument. According to the article, research has shown that overseas students spend more time in school than American students. In addition, the article also stated that when American schools increase the amount of time students are in school, they score higher on tests than they normally would have. I am not so sure that this is the only solution for getting our students to learn more though. I think that the American school system is stuck in the past. Even the article mentions the fact that we are still set up around the growing seasons even though most of our students no longer work in the fields. I think that the educational system of the United States needs to be renovated (along with several other different areas).
I think that the Department of Education needs to crack down on the number of teachers who consistently use instructional methods that are outdated, unsupported by research data, or that just flat out do not work. It can be very difficult for new teachers to get their more experienced counterparts to "see the light." Let's face it...when we are first year teachers, who is really going to want to listen to us?
Yet, if simply adding more time in school will solve the issue, will they also increase the pay of teachers. It is hard enough to get some teachers to care at their current salaries. If they are told that they will have to do more but still get paid the exact same amount, I am sure there will be some dissension. Will we have to give up our "free" summers? Will we lose those teacher work days to normal instructional days (some may already prefer this anyway.)
What do you think the solution is?
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This is an interesting point. I was reading your post and thinking "It only makes sense for US students to spend as much time in the classroom as their international counterparts," but then I thought about it from a teacher's perspective. I personally wouldn't want to extend my work day with no increase in salary. If they were to increase salary proportionally to how much they increase the school day, that only seems fair, and really the only solution if we were to make the school day longer.
ReplyDeleteYou touched upon so many interesting changes to consider in the education world. When it comes to making changes in education, I believe that we need to keep in mind the purpose of education: to give our youth opportunities and to better society. Sure, people believe in different methods to reach these goals, such as longer school days, and more efficient standards. But I believe that the role in a teacher is to be passionate about the purpose of their work. If teachers motives for working are easy hours, free summers, and decent benefits then I believe that they are mislead and doing a disservice to themselves, others, and society. If pay motivates people to work harder, than teaching is not the profession for them.
ReplyDeleteSo, maybe the re-evaluation needs to be in the professionals who are being hired as teachers verses comparing our educational system to that of foreign countries. Perhaps then, certain issues regarding the efficiency of American education will be improved.
I agree with Nick, at least from an instructor view point. I don't understand why the debate or issue would be over expanding instructional time before we had the discussion of increasing the standards and salaries of instructors. I don't agree that more time in the classroom would significantly increase student learning. I think what would help the most is a focus on meaningful quality instruction, which would more likely occur if high quality instructors could be attached to the field of education, but at the current financial level of support public educators receive this seems unlikely to happen. We can't expect to even motivate current instructors to put the time and effort into creating stimulating quality instruction if they do not feel appreciated or compensated for their work.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Nick, I think logically it only makes sense to proportionally increase the salary of teachers to how long the school day has been increased, but in reality, that does not mean it will happen that way.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I think, for the most part more time in the classroom would lead to better student comprehension, but only if this is done adequately. Certain students can't sit down and learn for two hours at a time. in order for this to be effective, the school systems must keep the students needs in mind first and foremost.