I think what it boils down to is what would the “extra time” be used for? More test preperation for students? As if enough time is not already spent on this! We are teaching a generation of students who are “test taking” experts! These students can test, test, test but many of them can not think critically!

I can see the merit in using the “extra time” to enhance students’ learning with field trips and extra curricular activities, especially in low income areas.

President Obama makes valid points in that we are falling behind as nation with our education system. He stated,” The challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom… if they can do that in South Korea, we can do it right here in the United States of America.” We can do it IF it is done correctly with the right intentions. Again, dare I bring up teaching to the test? WE DON’T NEED MORE TIME TO TEACH FOR THE TEST!

I think children should spend a lot of time learning – in fact, I think they should spend all day, every day, learning, as should adults – but that “school” is only one, and not always the most effective, path to learning. If we are going to create productive 21st century learners, we have to prepare them for the world in which they are going to be living in, not for the test!

So, yes, maybe we do need “extra time” to enrich students’ learning with experiences they may not get otherwise.

Seriously, I’m dying to read it. Thanks!

http://siobhancurious.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/will-more-school-make-us-better-people/

http://open.salon.com/blog/siobhan_curious/2009/04/30/the_most_important_skill_we_learn_in_school

Everyone had very strong, and generally well-informed, views on the subject. I learned a lot.

You make great points about how extra time can be used to improve the learning experiences for students—whether they live in high poverty communities or not!

I know that my students—and I’m teaching science and social studies—come to me with very little context knowledge because time for science and social studies has been pushed so far aside in elementary schools. That only makes reading more and more difficult in middle school, where nonfiction text forms the majority of a child’s reading experiences—both tested and untested!

Your points about field trips, clubs and teams are also well taken—Richard Rothstein’s research has shown that these are the kinds of experiences that most kids in high poverty communities miss out on and that the kids in my suburban schools take for granted.

I guess I’m still pretty doubtful that any extra time will be used in this way, though—-and that’s what worries me the most! I keep having nightmares about schools of poverty ending up looking a whole lot more like those Linda Perlstein documented in Tested: The Price We Pay to Make the Grade.

Here’s to hoping that Duncan will pair his language around extra time with language describing the kinds of experiences that you and Larry have detailed here.

Bill