BullDawg
Gone but will never forgotten. R.I.P. Nate
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090927/ap_on_re_us/us_more_school
The president sees a need for longer school days and years. Personally speaking, I don't see how comparing our school regiment to that of Asian countries to be an honest comparison without taking into consideration the cultural aspects and "free time" activities of most Asian students.
For example, in S. Korea children are ranked throughout their school years. You are #1 in the class down to the last ranked child. I'm not sure how our culture would accept that level of competition among our children. As a result, most of these children go to private tutoring classes every night, meaning they are basically in "school" till late into the evening. The pressure to perform is extremely high.
Another aspect of our education system will also come into play here and that is teacher's pay. As it stands now, most educators feel they are vastly underpaid. Extending school hours and days will increase this perception. So any attempt to increase hours will HAVE to be met with increased pay or you'll end up with even less qualified teachers.
Just some thoughts to get the discussion started.
The president sees a need for longer school days and years. Personally speaking, I don't see how comparing our school regiment to that of Asian countries to be an honest comparison without taking into consideration the cultural aspects and "free time" activities of most Asian students.
For example, in S. Korea children are ranked throughout their school years. You are #1 in the class down to the last ranked child. I'm not sure how our culture would accept that level of competition among our children. As a result, most of these children go to private tutoring classes every night, meaning they are basically in "school" till late into the evening. The pressure to perform is extremely high.
Another aspect of our education system will also come into play here and that is teacher's pay. As it stands now, most educators feel they are vastly underpaid. Extending school hours and days will increase this perception. So any attempt to increase hours will HAVE to be met with increased pay or you'll end up with even less qualified teachers.
Just some thoughts to get the discussion started.