Schools consider increasing hours

by Kristin Darguzas (Subscribe to Kristin Darguzas's posts) Feb 25th 2007 10:00AM

Schools in the United States are pondering the merits of a longer school day.

When I first saw the headline, I was filled with the same sense of dread I had when I heard several years ago that local schools here were pondering a year-round school system. Don't kids work hard enough already? Must everything be so educational? What about fun?

But according to advocates, the slightly longer school day makes the pace "less frenzied" and allows for more down time and "fun" classes, as well as the traditional reading and math.

Massachusetts is leading the charge on the initiative, but lawmakers in 4 others states are also considering the extended hours.

The longer school day would cost taxpayers about $ 1300.00, with most of that money going toward paying teachers for the extended hours. Optional "fun" classes have included courses such as forensics and drama. Teachers say that once kids are engaged in the "fun" classes, they are more open to other learning. That makes sense to me.

What do you think? Would you be OK with a longer school day for your child?

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Comments (14)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Clarissa 2-25-2007 @ 10:35AM

Kids go to school for about 7 to 8 hours a day , on top of the hours of homework, the sports, where is the family time?

It's one of the reasons I'm so glad we decided to homeschool!

Ann Adams 2-25-2007 @ 10:41AM

The girls are on a bus by 7:00 a.m. for a 7:40 start.

They're out at 2:10 and it's usually 3:30 or even 4:00 by the time they're home (unless they walk which is faster but it's two miles).

That's nine hours including commute time. For a lot of kids it's even longer.

By the time they finish homework, there's not much time for anything else.

Cassie 2-25-2007 @ 11:03AM

Extended hours? No way, unless they do extended hours with a 3 day weekend. School here is from 8:00 until 3:30, most kids get on the bus around 7:00, and don't get off the bus until 4:00.

There is no time for fun, family, or themselves as it is.

Tamyu 2-25-2007 @ 11:25AM

Having lived through the great school-time decrease in Japan (Cut school from 8 hours a day to 5, etc.)... And now the aftermath and the return to the original length - I think I can add a valuable opinion.

Seriously, a short day is just *not* good for learning. Less hours mean that teachers have to try to cram more learning into the short time.

Everyone loves to complain about teachers teaching for the "test", well, it`s because they have to test students, and don`t have time left over for teaching anything else. A longer day would let the teachers be more relaxed, the students be more relaxed, and the whole "learning" bit would come a lot more naturally.

Personally, I`d prefer a slightly longer school day with less homework for afterward.

Ben 2-25-2007 @ 12:29PM

When I was in High School (way back 8 years ago.. :-)) The school district thought about extending the school days at the high schools. they eventually settled on block days.Same amount of hours during the day, two hour class periods. A typical week would be something like: Monday & Wednesday - 1st, 3rd, 4th; Tuesday & Thursday - 2nd, 5th, 7th; Friday - all classes (not two hours..). When they first started it, we all (the students) thought it would be horrible. two hours in one class seemed like a really long time. In reality, it actually helped us, as the teachers didn't have to be rushed to teach a lesson in 45 mins, and then send the kids home with a ton of homework. Most of the time, I didn't have any homework after that, cause it was all able to be finished in class.

Ginny 2-25-2007 @ 12:07PM

From a teacher's perspective, who is also just now the parentof a college freshman, the extra hours do seem ominous at first. My son's HS had block scheduling and I almost never saw him with "homework." I can definitely see the extended time as a benefit to certain middle schools (I am a middle school teacher) in the less-pressured learning time and reduction in homework. Our school provides after-school programs that serve some students but cannot accommodate all. Extended time, with teacher's having an option to serve, can be a viable solution to low-scoring performance. We HAVE to test. But teachers also want students to learn to the extent that they are able to apply that knowledge to real life and become productive parts of our community and society.

Cassie 2-25-2007 @ 1:08PM

We have block schedules too. 4 classes a semester, 90 minutes each.

It's a lot better than 8 classes at 45 minutes each.

Diana Keller 2-25-2007 @ 1:36PM

My kids leave the house for the bus at 6:30 am and don't return until 4:10 in the afternoon. If they extended the schoold day any longer, they wouldn't get home until supper time. They already don't really have time to play if they have homework, any longer would be too much presure, it's already tough.

Ann Adams 2-25-2007 @ 8:06PM

Regardless of what I said before, if the longer day were accompanied by a decrease in or elimination of homework, I'd be okay with it. The actual time involved with school wouldn't change.

Uly 2-25-2007 @ 9:57PM

A longer day, but with more breaks for recess? That, I'm all for - especially in this world where most kids have to go to afterschool programs or go home alone as it is.

But I think it would make more sense to extend the length of the school year first, instead of limiting it to less than half the year spent inside class!

SKL 2-25-2007 @ 10:59PM

I think we need to work on the amount of time kids spend on the school bus each day. Sounds like many kids are losing multiple hours per day, vegging on school buses. The kids on my street go to a public elementary school that is 3.1 miles away, even though there is at least one much closer school in our district.

A loss of two hours in a kid's school day is a huge cost. That's 360 hours a year, probably enough to improve his reading and math skills by a grade level, or help him work off the unhealthy layers of fat and stress today's kids are accumulating, or learn a musical instrument, or just read a book for pleasure for a change. Or, God forbid, help around the house or get a job. I'm surprised there isn't already an active movement to fix this problem.

margalit 2-26-2007 @ 3:26PM

massachusetts has a shorter day than most other areas of the US. In MA, it is not uncommon for kids to get out of school (elementary) one day a week a bit after noon, and the rest of the day, attend from 9-3. By high school, they attend from 7:40 to 2. That's NOT a long day when you add in the study halls, the early dismissals, and the lunch periods.

I'm definately in favor of a longer day. My daughter doesn't have any electives this term because she literally doesn't have the time, and she's not happy about that. I'd much rather she spent her time doing something she likes rather than gabbing on the phone and IMing her friends. I'm not alone in this either!

Jessica 2-26-2007 @ 11:19AM

As a high school teacher, I am not for it. I do, however, love the year-round teaching idea and wish it would have caught on more. The kids actually go for 9 week stretches, with two to three weeks off in between. I k now this is a nightmare for parents but it is wonderful for teachers. The breaks leave us revitalized in a way that Spring Break just can't do and the increase in learning due to not losing knowledge over the three month summer break is great.

Longer days, nah. Kids are tired at the end of the day and they are losing their minds from sitting in classrooms all day. I think we can gain more time in the classroom in other ways without extending an already long day.

Ginny 2-26-2007 @ 12:42PM

FTR - that Ginny up there isn't ME!!!!!

I think that if they reduced the amount of homework while extending the day, it might not be so bad. For now, tho, my children (Kindergarten and soon to be in kindergarten) are too young to go that long.