(
Cross Posted at HeartlandPac.org)
[Update: More Comments Below]
I wanted to thank TeacherKen for his comments early yesterday about education and for all of his insights over the past few weeks. I am also happy to see that all of you here at the Dailykos.com community have joined TeacherKen in discussing education again, as you have done before.
I took time to read the responses and I want to thank those who took the time to respond to TeacherKen and the post I made on the Heartland Pac website. One of the comments that caught my attention was the listing of items by decades that we have expected our schools to teach. That list and the fact that the amount of school schedule has not changed explains a lot to me.
At a recent education summit sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education on high schools one commentator examined how much time was actually spent in the classroom. She started with our 180-day calendar and then began to eliminate in service days, field trips, assemblies, and other events in which students are not in class and she ended up with only 6 weeks of days when full time learning in class took place. It was an eye opener for many.
I think those suggesting that we need a different school schedule should be given credit for raising the issue. I have suggested that our 180-day year be re-evaluated. This suggestion has started an examination of what we should do with the time we currently have. Are there better uses of that time? Schools are already beginning to eliminate unnecessary activities and the state Board of Education has been tasked with a review of the barriers that exist to extending or changing the school year.
During a monthly call in show one mother objected to the notion that the school year be extended. She talked about the importance of summer vacation when she was young and her desire that her children have the same benefits. This pointed out to me the job we have to explain to parents the challenges their children face and how we have to challenge longstanding notions. I would appreciate views on what we could do as government officials or as educators to underscore how important education will be for future success and how important it is too continually look for ways to improve educational opportunity.
I was also struck by the discussions about how much change takes place in every aspect of a middle school student's life. I am not sure that most policy makers appreciate the variety of factors that go into success or failure for students in any and all aspects of their school life. Again, who has done the best job of educating policymakers about this and how did they do it?
I would like to hear from folks on this as well as how to best approach time issues in education. That is why Heartland Pac is conducting this education discussion and then passing on your ideas to Democratic Governors and Governor candidates across the country. Thank you again for the opportunity to discuss education with your community, and I hope that we can continue this discussion today and for the days to come here and at the Heartland Pac website.