Longer School Year? First Stop Boring Us!

Rumor has it that President Obama is thinking about substantially lengthening the school year. It’s not a new idea. Every since the Russians beat us into space in 1957, we’ve been trying to think of new ways to crank out more and better engineers.
Some countries have longer school weeks and years. Charter schools hold summer and Saturday sessions. Obama points out that our current school year was essentially designed around the farm schedule so boys could be home to help with the crops.
That, admittedly, is not a particularly valid reason for keeping the present school year—since the majority of Americans (and kids) have been urban since the 1920 census. In west Michigan, which depends heavily on the tourist trade, it is useful to have the kids available to work the resorts between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Losing them would hurt.
It might be helpful in the inner city to have a place for kids to go during the long, hot summers, far from any beaches or middle class summer vacations and activities. Increasingly, Americans of all classes depend on school as a baby sitting service while they work.
It would cut back on day care expenses if school were held on more days. The lady next door to me runs a day care center; she sees how frantic parents become when there are unscheduled days off from school for weather—and she cannot legally take more children during school hours.
It is also quite true that kids can forget a lot of algebra if they are away from it for three solid months. In Europe they shorten the summer vacation and give longer vacations in the spring and winter. This helps to avoid the problem we have here where teachers often complain about the amount of time they spend each fall reviewing what was taught in the spring.
There are good arguments for lengthening the school year; good arguments for not. Possibly it is a matter that should be considered district by district—so that the kids in west Michigan can work to keep the resorts open—and the kids in Detroit can have some place to go in the summer where there are meals, activities and academic reinforcement.
Some people are going to object to that, saying it’s undemocratic or discriminatory. But there really are different situations in this country and, possibly, we are going to have to react to them differently.
A lot of kids in inner cities don’t have the chance to go to Yellowstone or Europe in the summer—or to gain useful work experience. They don’t go to soccer camp, basketball camp or baseball camp. They don’t do family camping trips or spend summers at a cottage.
Around here they do. It seems a shame to deprive them. But I have another issue. Before we decide to shorten summer vacation, let’s make sure “more school” isn’t “more of the same school.” We’re boring the living daylights out of our kids.
When I substitute I watch the boredom on their faces. I remember when I graduated from high school—and reflected on the previous twelve years I’d spent in school. I suddenly became very angry—realizing that I had wasted six out of the last twelve years.
They could have taught me everything they taught me from K through 12 in no more than six years. I could easily have been in college by age fourteen or so. So could most of my friends. The school system wasted YEARS of my time. Trying to imagine several more weeks a year of the same repetitious and almost pointless drivel leaves me aghast even now!
If and when we open schools for additional weeks, let’s make sure we have something that captures the imagination of the captive students. Maybe we could give teachers acting lessons. It’s all well and good to know the subject—but also make it INTERESTING!
My field is history. Most kids who hate it have never been taught it well. I suspect that’s true in nearly every field. Kids stay interested in computer classes, art classes and even music classes—they could be induced to stay interested in math or English literature. If we just taught it as something exciting and interesting.
If you’re going to bore me, stick to 39 weeks. Even less. Above all, Mr. Obama, make sure the new and longer classes are INTERESTING. Enough methodology. Enough droning. Reread Hamlet’s advice to the actors—teach like that!!