8 hour school day?

Published 15 January 08 by Justin French, 1 comments

Gruber on an NY Times article about education:

But she also argues that the school day should be expanded from 6.5 to 8 hours, quoting some jackass who says “Trying to cram everything our 21st-century students need into a 19th-century six-and-a-half-hour day just isn’t working.” The last thing kids need is to be cooped up in school for more hours each day.

I have no kids, so I’m probably utterly under-qualified to talk about this stuff, but I was a kid once. I’d actually be in favor of an 8-hour school day if it meant abolishing homework and/or letting kids explore the aspects of their learning that interest them the most.

As a bonus, parents wouldn’t have to spend a fortune on child care for those extra hours they were at work, and time spent at home could actually revolve around the home and family, rather than an extension of school.

No idea what it’s like elsewhere, but in Australia, kids (especially in high school) are absolutely hammered with an incredible amount of work to be completed outside of school hours.