More School PLUS Less Vacation EQUALS Less Ambition

First of all, I am a President Obama supporter and agree with most of what he wants to do for our country. However, I do not believe that forcing children to spend more time at school is a realistic goal. I have many reasons why I disagree, but I prefer to focus on alternative solutions. There are better ways to improve the "no child left behind" policy.

All students, no matter the age, learn differently. If schools focused on finding out what type of learner the students were and split the classes up accordingly, everyone would receive better results. For example, some children learn better by doing, also called kinesthetic learners. So, the teachers for these students would arrange the classroom so that each child would take a turn physically doing the work. Other children are visual learners. Visual learners do not progress if they watch someone do the problem wrong on the board. These students must see the right way the first time, as they can be easily confused. And yet other children are auditory learners. These students cannot be asked to "watch and learn." They need things explained to them. Having them read and follow directions is not always an easy task for them. If the schools were set-up in this way, children could learn more in a shorter period of time. This would offer more quality education for students and improve their grades.

Another idea is to ensure that all schools are in fact teaching the same material. There is nothing more disturbing than to find out that two teachers for the same grade and in the same school are teaching completely different information. If we want all our children to learn, we need to insure that they are being taught the material.

And finally, if we want to regulate schools, it should begin with the standardized tests. There are two reasons to look at how proficiency is measured. One, each state's standardized tests are different. How can we obtain an accurate score to measure if the material is not the same? In Florida the test is stressed as being more important than in other states. Secondly, some children just do not test well. It does not mean that they do not know the material. A child can make straight A's on their report card and still test below average on a standardized test. One test is not an accurate way to measure a child's intelligence.

Before we do something as drastic as forcing children to spend more hours at school than their parents do at work, we should consider other alternatives. We should find ways to encourage our children to want to learn. After all, learning should be a lifelong desire that goes well beyond the confines of a classroom. If we bully our children into going to school for longer, we may find our country full of even more less ambitious citizens.