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 Longer School Days 
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There is an interesting article on CNN.com called "Length of school day under review across nation, in Congress". Here is the link: http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/02/25/longer.school.days.ap/index.html

It is basically talking about how in some places in the the United States they are trying out longer days and even adding hours in on every other Saturday and even adding some weeks in the summer. It says that they are adding in more downtime during the school day so that they can be more energized while actually be in class. The article also talks about how teachers will be paid more for these extended hours of the day.

The extra money does sound nice, but I already feel like there are so many hours that are put in as a teacher that I do not know how I feel about adding on more hours to a school day. From visiting my sibling's elementary school it seems like there is a lot of "wasted" time where there could have been doing some sort of activity to use up the time wisely. I think there may be ways to fix not having "enough time" by just organizing better.

The article ended with a student whose grades got better on her report card because of the extra hours. I think that they do have some benefits to it, but I am not sure if I am 100% on board with the idea.

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Krystal Tarnaski


Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:13 pm
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i have to agree with some of what you say in how a lot of time outside of school is put in by a teacher. many states require you to attend workshops and take classes to further your education and by adding school days it seems as though it would cut into the time available to do so.

i also agree with you when you say that a lot of time is wasted when at school. i remember doing very little at times at least.

i will definitely look into this information a little


Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:20 pm
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Longer school days can be very benificial to the students. Obviously more time learning will result in more understanding of the subject matter. The biggest downfall would be for the teahcers. One of the perks for the teachers are the hours they work. Working more hours and saturdays will probably not draw as many people into the profession.

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Adam Moore


Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:05 pm
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I have mixed feelings about adding more hours onto the day. I do like in the article where it mentioned that the extra time will give students the opportunity for more interactive and exciting classes rather than just adding on another hour of english and math. I think there is already a problem with students becoming bored in school. Regardless of how long a class period is, if the student is bored they aren't going to learn anything, which is part of the reason I don't like block scheduling. I think if done correctly (i.e. allow some of the extra time to be more social, so that students can at least interact with each other) it could be very beneficial but I see many school systems just using the extra time to cram in more information and load on more homework than students already have.


Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:45 pm
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I think longer school days, in theory, could be a great thing for children. However, it certainly needs to be a team effort. Teachers have to collectively come together to create more creative and interactive lessons, and the students have to be willing to participate in classes that span longer periods of time. I've heard some critics say that 'the longer kids are in school, the less oppertunities they have to get in trouble', which I guess I partly agree with. I think this is a pretty revolutionary issue overall, and am not really sure if it will honestly change in our lifetime. Like i said above, in theory this is a great idea, but I'm just not sure how feasable it is.

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-Allison Sawicki


Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:12 pm
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I think that too often in classrooms there is a lot if down time that could be used for more learning. Many teachers don't take advantage of time that is already allot to them and if school days were longer I think that there would be even more down time. Also, by the time school is out many students are so worn out it would be impossible to try and crame and extra hour or more of information in their heads.
If hours were extended teachers have to become more creative. Students need to move around and do activities that are more interactive.

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Charlene Leonard


Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:54 pm
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I remember coming home from elementary school exhausted. It was hard for me to handle six hours, much less eight. I think there are better ways to improve schools than lengthening the school day. I know I would not have been able to handle it in elementary school, and I don't think I would want to send my kids (if I had any) to school for that long a period of time.

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Leah Brown


Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:13 pm
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honestly, I think that life is too short to spend even more time in school. As it is most children see thier teacher more than they see their families and in the long run it is so important to have that time growing up with your family. I think that it probably could be beneficial for some to lengthen the days of school, but when you look at the big picture I feel like it would be a waste of time...time that could be spent learning and growing at home with your loved ones. Who's gonna remember if they got an A in math when they are 80 years old, they're more likely to remember falling of the swing with their brother and getting that scar on their knee. I know some people don't have good family lives, but giving them less time with them isn't solving that problem.

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Susanne M Olson


Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:37 pm
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I think that we need not extend the school day, but rather use the school time more efficiently. As Charlene said, there is a lot of down time. For the child who hates school, gets bored, or is a wiggle worm this could be detrimental. I think that we, as teachers need to learn how to utilize our time better.

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Lauren Cagle


Mon Mar 05, 2007 2:50 pm
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I think that the length of the school day is already too long. When I look back on high school, I dont even know how I made it through those long days. I understand what they mean by trying to add in more "down" time, but these kids are still at school and its hard to separate fun from class when your in that school environment. I also believe that the time you have away from school can be very valuable. You can learn things outside of school and its important to experience different environments. Being in the same facility and environment for an extended amount of time will drive anyone crazy! I think the research that they have found for this article is not fully based on the length of time spent in school. Maybe if we start to use the time spent in schools more effectively then we wouldnt have to even think about the idea of making school days longer.

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Meredith Kemper


Tue Mar 06, 2007 1:41 pm
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I would gofor shorter school days, with a more creative approach to learning the same material.


Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:55 am
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