| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front Economy |
| 4-day school week gains momentum amid recession |
| 2009-03-13 |
| This has got to be the dumbest idea on the planet. Well, one of them at least. Let's see. Did China or India back off on schooling even when their economies were in way worse shape than that of the US? Why? How do you get ahead in the world with a poorly educated younger generation who are supposed to carry us into a more competetive future? It's hard enough for women to work given school schedules, and now they want to take them completely out of action on a business day? And who is going to keep these kids under control while single moms are off trying to put together a living for their family? Or even if both parents are there? Ain't nobody this stupid. There must be something else going on here. With the nation's school districts strapped for cash, more are considering a schedule that delights students and makes working parents cringe: Class only four days a week. By extending school hours and eliminating a day of classes each week, education officials say they could save busloads of money on transportation and utilities. That's all fine by Layla Bahabri, a 10th-grader at South Florida's Charles W. Flanagan High School, who likes the idea of sleeping in and studying on the extra day off. "We could catch up on whatever we want to do," she said. That's what is called a contrarian indicator. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #11 What the hell are they good for, anyways? Someone has to work with all those kids who were mainstreamed into a system not designed to handle their special needs, Mitch. Trailing daughter #2 had an aide in her elementary school classes to keep the lad with the impulse control/bullying problems from harming the other kids -- his father thought the behaviour was cute. The rest do all those things that PTA mothers used to do back when most mothers didn't have paying jobs. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-03-13 17:30 |
| #10 Slash the non-teaching overhead by 50%. Then cut it again by 10%. Maybe start with those "teacher aides". They didn't have these creatures when I went to school. What the hell are they good for, anyways? |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2009-03-13 16:18 |
| #9 Extend the school year round. Kids don't plant or harvest the crops anymore. Over the summer they just forget what they learned and much of the fall is devoted to review. Push the college curriculum into high school for those that can handle it or shorten/eliminate high school all together. Replace it kids starting the local college at 15 and an intensive vocational/apprenticeship for those so inclined. Get the kids immersed/productive instead of bored and into drugs and criminality. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-03-13 14:46 |
| #8 the public school system in general is continually making me more of a fan of home schooling.... |
| Posted by: Andy Ulusoque aka Broadhead6 2009-03-13 13:19 |
| #7 I don't think there are many employers who will be interested in employing someone who can only be at work four days a week. The solution will be to extend schooling an extra hour each day and be done with it. The cost savings I believe are not worth the harm they will cause in the future. And the present. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-03-13 13:18 |
| #6 Four ten-hour school days instead of five eight-hour days? Our elementary school has offered before and after school babysitting programs run by the YMCA for years anyway, so I don't see the issue with them dropping or cutting short the after school program to substitute all day Friday instead. Our high school is already offering a Zero period for seniors to get in their required courses and go off to work at noon -- it's very popular. Also among those who want to take an extra course for the sheer masochism of it all. Single working parents and couples where both parents work are going to find themselves struggling to manage the impossible, regardless. Covering a third weekend day might actually be easier than trying to beat rush-hour traffic that fifth day in a row. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-03-13 12:49 |
| #5 As for academics, studies have shown the four-day schedule does not hinder student achievement, and may even help improve test scores. A telling commentary on the value of time spent in public schools. |
| Posted by: DoDo 2009-03-13 11:49 |
| #4 And I'm sure the teachers will all take pay cuts too, right? Hello...hello... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-03-13 10:44 |
| #3 By extending school hours and eliminating a day of classes each week, education officials say they could save busloads of money on transportation and utilities. Bus loads of money can be saved by capping the number of education official administrative positions [and office space plus utilities] to 1960s levels. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-03-13 09:58 |
| #2 A six day school week would make better sense. Or it would if they actually taught stuff - so maybe a zero day school week would be better. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-03-13 07:55 |
| #1 Well, now when the parents are unemployed... |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-13 06:54 |