Would longer days help students who are struggling, or simply boost the drop out rate?

School is on everyone’s mind these past few days as the new school year kicks into full gear. A lot of moms were very relieved to drop their kids back at school. Let’s face it, kids get bored during the summer and most moms have to work. Whether you work in or out of the home, juggling young children and work can be hectic so it was with a collective sigh of relief that school resumed. And now so many of us miss our kids!

I’m glad they are back but I miss them too, yet I know they are in the best educational place possible. So when the afternoon rolls around, I’m happy to pick them up and have some family time. This year is a little different. My son is in elementary school from 8:10 am- 2:30 every day except Wednesdays when he gets out at 12:30pm. My daughter just started high school and starts each day at 8:15am. She gets out at 2:45pm. My oldest is in college and her schedule is all over the place.

Some high schoolers around here start at 7am, some get out at 4pm. Every single school is different, yet the push for extended school hours grows. In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is adamant about schools adding an extra 90 minutes per day.

I don’t think it’s a good idea.

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You could get ready for the school year by dissecting things at home.

A glance at Google trends yesterday revealed the preoccupation of plenty of parents and grade-schoolers on what is, for most of the country (me included) the last weekend before school starts, and it’s not a search for the most exciting possible way to make the most of a last few days of freedom from schedules and early mornings. Instead, it’s a reflection of our collective fears about the result of all that freedom. We love our classic summer in the United States; but we worry about it, too. Most other Western countries don’t give their kids such a long break (and very few kids are using it to work in the fields). A few schools (only about 3000) do provide year-round schooling, with two or three week long breaks spread throughout the year, but most of our kids have been out of school for for nearly three months now, and we’re just a little worried about it.

So sure, we’re taking a last trip to the swimming pool amidst all the new-lunch-box-buying and the search for the absolute coolest two-pocket folders. But we’re also worrying, and, as always, our worries are reflected back to us via the magic of Google. What were a significant number of us searching for yesterday that reminded me that no matter how unique we think we are, we really do move as a herd? Continue reading »

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As someone who eagerly anticipates the last day of school as much, if not more, than my child, the very thought that summer break might be an outdated idea makes me panic just a little bit.  Some of the happiest days of my childhood occurred between the months of June and September, and I want my own child to have those same experiences.

But according to Ron Fairchild, CEO of the non-profit National Summer Learning Association, those carefree days of summer are wreaking havoc on the education of poor and disadvantaged students. Unlike their wealthier peers, who may spend the summer enriching their lives through camps, vacations, and trips to museums and libraries, many underprivileged kids are doing absolutely nothing beyond watching television and hanging out on the streets. Continue reading »

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Did your kids spend their summer on the beach, at the pool, or just hunting for bugs in their backyard?  That free time might be endangered.  President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are advocating for longer school days and a move toward a “balanced” or year round calendar for school kids.

Obama won the mock election in my kids’ school by a landslide.  I wonder if those votes would have been different if the kids knew he had it in for summer break.

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