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Obama would curtail summer vacation
Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way. Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe.
"Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president 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."
The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let kids in on weekends so they have a safe place to go.
"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 said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
Fifth-grader Nakany Camara is of two minds. She likes the four-week summer program at her school, Brookhaven Elementary School in Rockville, Md. Nakany enjoys seeing her friends there and thinks summer school helped boost her grades from two Cs to the honor roll.
But she doesn't want a longer school day. "I would walk straight out the door," she said.
Domonique Toombs felt the same way when she learned she would stay for an extra three hours each day in sixth grade at Boston's Clarence R. Edwards Middle School.
"I was like, 'Wow, are you serious?'" she said. "That's three more hours I won't be able to chill with my friends after school."
Her school is part of a 3-year-old state initiative to add 300 hours of school time in nearly two dozen schools. Early results are positive. Even reluctant Domonique, who just started ninth grade, feels differently now. "I've learned a lot," she said.
Does Obama want every kid to do these things? School until dinnertime? Summer school? And what about the idea that kids today are overscheduled and need more time to play?
- Posted on September 29, 2009
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I don't think that school should go longer because we work hard already plus kids have other activities to do after school. We might have sports practices, or chores to do after school, and then we wouldn't have time to do them! Also, what about sleep? We need to sleep so that we're awake enough to do the work in school. If we're not awake we'll fail and then we won't get good jobs. The teachers need to sleep too. If they're not awake in school, then they might loose their jobs. That's why I don't think that school should be longer.
Oh.
My.
GOSH.
THREE MORE HOURS?! Kids do not need to stay in school THAT long! I would be in school until SIX THIRTY! I SO do not want do be in school that long! {Sorry Mrs. E} Either that or we would have to go to school early- and I am NOT a morning person. I don't think I know anybody who would agree with THREE whole hours- not even teachers! Obama needs to get a hobby- he stresses school stuff too much.
Peas out, Clacgrl12
I would not want school to go longer because I am very busy with chores. I think it would it would be better to have two weeks off every month instead of having summer vacation. If we had two weeks off every month you wouldn't get bored in the middle of summer break. It would also help kids from forgetting information in the middle of summer vacation. So I think Obama should not prolong schoolhours or schoolyears.
If they do make the school year longer with longer days once I got into high school I would just quit and get my GED, because I already have enough to do at home it would just prolong me doing chores until 2am. Plus I have church on Wed so it would just overlap on that.
No! No! No! No! No! I will not go back to school until suppertime. How are we supposed to play sports in the dark. I hope that President Obama gets his way.
I think it's a good idea, as long as we have longer breaks. Students lose quit a bit of information over the long summer break. It would elimanate the problem.