Will Increased School Hours Improve Education for American Students?

The Associated Press reported today that President Obama favors more time in school for American students. He advocates accomplishing this with longer classes, later hours, and even school on weekends.

The President has acknowledged that this is an idea that might not immediately garner support, not even with the sixth and third grade girls currently occupying the White House.

"Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president is quoted as having said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

"Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today," Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently told the same news organization.

Obama and Duncan partially justify their line of reasoning by comparing American school days to those of other nations.

"Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here," Duncan has said. "I want to just level the playing field."

But while other nations may operate for more than the 180 days that is typical for American schools, the hours of instruction are not always greater.

As the Associated Press also reported, American students receive approximately 1,146 hours of class time each school year while Singapore only provides their students with 903 hours of annual instruction. This is notable as Asian countries repeatedly score higher than American students on math and science tests.

But, when talking about education, you can't always just "do the math." There are so many other considerations.

While American teachers are being pressured to "teach to the test", Singapore's teachers are being encouraged to adopt a "Teach Less, Learn More" model that promotes improved education through teacher/student interaction and equipping students to understand information and apply critical thinking skills. Singapore's focus on "moulding the future of our nation" is outlined in its 2009 Education Statistics Digest published by the Ministry of Education.

Isn't that a novel idea - stop requiring the memorization of vast amounts of data to achieve higher test scores and allow teachers to instruct children to actually learn in a way that equips them with the ability to apply that knowledge for the rest of their lives!

Several years ago, my son struggled in elementary school. Truthfully, I was a single mom, working long hours and did not make the time to help him with his homework like I should. At the time, his elementary school, Broward Elementary in Tampa, Florida, had an afterschool program for children who tested significantly lower than the general population of students. My son qualified for these extra hours of tutoring. His scores improved so much he was disqualified from the program. Since my situation had not changed and I feared he would slip in his studies, I persuaded (okay, I begged) the principal to allow him to remain in the program based on the likelihood that his grades would suffer if he lost the help. She agreed. Two years later, when my son entered school in Henry County, Georgia, he tested for the gifted program.

Do I believe the extra hours helped my son? Absolutely. The results are undeniable.

But, this was not merely additional instruction time. His extra hours were spent in small group tutoring that met his specific learning needs. And, unfortunately, when budgets needed to be tightened, the program was terminated.

During my school years, my stay-at-home mother provided me with this help. Unfortunately, I (and I know there are many parents out there in the same boat) could not give of my time in that way due to the need to provide for my family.

However, simply tacking on additional hours or days would still not provide the ability for teachers to give this kind of instruction.

At one of the middle schools where I regularly substitute teach, they are providing a study period to children who need it. This extra "homework" or "tutoring" time is taken from their "connections" class time, not their regular instructional periods. "Connections" classes include art, band, chorus, drama, health, keyboarding, etc. The regular daily schedule allows for two connections classes per day for each student. These students get to choose one connections class and then go to a classroom for supervised study time during the other period. If they complete the homework assigned by their general education teachers, they have additional learning projects available to strengthen appropriate skills.

I think this is a wonderful way to give students the extra help that some of them need within the structure of the existing class day.

The Associated Press article also brought up the fact that adding additional time is expensive. A Massachusetts state initiative that adds 300 hours at nearly two dozen schools costs an extra $1,300 per student, or 12 percent to 15 percent more than regular per-student spending, Jennifer Davis, a founder of the program is quoted as saying in the article. It received more than $17.5 million from the state Legislature last year.

$17.5 million and it doesn't even cover 24 schools? How many schools are in your district? Now, you "do the math."

And, where, exactly, is this money going to come from?

As with the program my son participated in at Broward, solid initiatives that have proved successful are not immune to budgetary slashes.

In Georgia, teachers are taking mandatory furlough days (time off without pay) to ease the strain on the state's budget. In addition, class size has been increased to decrease the number of teachers on the current payroll.

And teacher cost is just the tip of the iceberg. With additional days, come additional fuel costs for busses, bus driver and monitor payrolls, support personnel at the schools, increased school utility bills, and additional meal costs, including additional costs to the Federal free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs.

I suppose some parents can pay the additional taxes that will need to be raised to pay for these increased costs with the money they will save in after-school child care. But many children are home alone now because their parents cannot afford the cost of additional child care.

As Duncan is also quoted in the article, "Those hours from 3 o'clock to 7 o'clock are times of high anxiety for parents. They want their children safe. Families are working one and two and three jobs now to make ends meet and to keep food on the table."

Whether it comes in the form of tuition or increased real estate taxes, there is no doubt the cost for additional hours of instruction will still strain family budgets even more than they are now.

Educating our children has got to be a top priority; and, no matter how you attack that problem, it's going to cost money. We just must ensure that the money is properly spent.

We need appropriately compensated teachers. Those teachers must be properly equipped with supplies (and not out of their own pockets). Class rooms need to be limited in size based upon subject material as well as physical space to facilitate learning. Tutoring and special assistance should be available to every student who needs it. And, current after-school programs, whether public or private, should provide homework assistance.

But school teachers are not parents, and sticking children in classrooms for every available waking hour is not going to, in and of itself, improve their education.

I realize I was lucky. Educationally, I was given a strong foundation. For the most part, I had good teachers (God bless you, Mrs. Petty!), and my mother was home and available to help me when I was completing my homework. (And, between school and studying, I gave my brain a much needed break with an after-school snack and a daily dose of Dark Shadows.)

Currently, I'm blessed with being able to homeschool my children. Their school days last as long as is necessary, and, yes, we more than occasionally complete lessons on Saturdays. But, that kind of personalized instruction is one of the benefits of being your own child's teacher.

I also realize that my situation is not the right solution for everyone, and each and every child in America is entitled to the opportunity for an excellent education.

I'm just not convinced that longer hours, weekend school, and shorter summer vacations will accomplish that goal.