Boston Globe Article on ELT
Posted by Robert Simpson on January 9, 2007
Kennedy to promote extended school days
By James Vaznis, Globe Staff | January 8, 2007
US Senator Edward M. Kennedy plans today in Washington to tout Massachusetts’ push for longer school days as a national model, saying students need additional time to master 21st- century skills in a new global economy.
posted by Robert Simpson
January 9th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
I’d like to see some politicians teaching effectively to our students in an extended day format!
January 9th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Children need time to play and to be outdoors. Parents and politicians are not educators. As professsionals we are better able to gauge children’s academic needs. If they get their noses out of education, I will stay out of the State House. Kennedy has no data and neither does anyone else to support their claims. Recent reports from the European arena show that we are on par if not ahead of european schools. I will check my sources and post a link soon.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Here is the website on Our Schools Vs. Theirs. It is from the Center for Education Research at Arizona State. They have numbers. They say we are on par with the world. I say the rest is political hype. First it was the Republicans now it’s the liberal left but the story is the same. They manipulate the story to further their own personal agenda. http://epsl.asu.edu/epru/point_of_view_essays/cerai-01-02.htm
January 9th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
I agree with the previous comments whole heartedly. Here is my question: is there any hard evidence that extended day is truly effective? I have seen articles online about many areas in the south trying it, not getting the results they wanted and have since reverted back. I also read that Japan is now downsizing. All of which stems for a rise in truancy, behavior problems and violence.
Hey, how about this? Fix the problems we have, instead of creating new ones!
January 9th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
I read the article and found it interesting. My favorite lines were:
“Those who want to undermine our public schools often condemn the whole system rather than face the inequities within it.” Again lets fix the problems we KNOW we have.
“So, are American schools failing or is America failing to educate some of its children?” In my opinion yes, for a variety of reasons, but will extended day be the fix? If so, I want to see the research… and it needs to have the same population/needs as us. Ask anyone in the classroom (or out) and I am sure they have a laundry list of needs for their students, whether it be curriculum, special need services (attaining, maintaining and adequacy), parental partnerships, etc.
Lastly, this board is for us to share ideas, thoughts and info we found. We have some big changes ahead of us and we need to stay together as a cohesive group that supports each other. I can’t speak for everyone, but it is stressful times. Spelling errors or not, let’s not turn this into a flame forum. Sometimes passion and emotions overcome neatness and precision.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:30 am
I found an article in the ERIC Digest:
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-922/year.htm
I also found this interesting. It follows many of themes that I mentioned previously with some more, such as funding.
Of course this is all political agenda, but the reality to that is it won’t ever be funded properly… whether it is shortchanging teachers’ pay, or shortchanging the students’ livlihoods, or hmmmm, a properly funded program. Plus what happens when the grant amounts shrink year after year like every other grant? Is the city going to fill in the gaps? Will the teachers’ salary? Will the wheels fall off the bus?
January 10th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
First of all, I want to thank the ELT Committee for all the time and effort they have put forth. They are to be commended for the excellent job they are doing. However, I do have some major concerns about the efficacy of the concept of extended time in learning.
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The ERIC article, “Extending the School Year and Day”, which was written in 1984, gives excellent hard data. The writings of David C. Berliner,
Dean and Regents’ Professor of the College of Education at Arizona State University, http://courses.ed.asu.edu/berliner/linklist.htm, support those ideas. The research behind the current push for extended time in learning, however, seems vague to me. I’ve yet to find any hard numbers supporting the notion. Just because powerful and knowledgeable people say it is a good idea does not make it so. I intend to keep searching for research which is not only statistically sound, but also from a more neutral source, rather than politically driven.
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I am very concerned about reduced family time and the continued erosion of free time for our students. There are many after-school programs, including Y, sports, scouting, music, religious school programs and other groups, clubs or lessons available to the children of Malden. If the school day lengthens, the ability of families to choose the types of activities in which their children participate will be reduced. The research supports strong family values as a very important part of education.
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The reduction of after-school time for teachers means less time to prepare lessons and for professional development. The research I have seen supports better preparation for teachers as a method of improving students’ academic achievement. Besides, many (most? all?) of us are sleep-deprived already and will have to cut corners in order to keep up, thus reducing our effectiveness.
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I really — I mean REALLY — want to get on board and get the team spirit and all that, but I just don’t see the upside. I do remain open to reasonable argument, however.