Naperville bloggers debate Obama's push for more school
Recently, President Barack Obama said American students need to spend more time in school to stay competitive.
According to Obama, students in other countries spend 25 or 30 percent more time in school than American students.
District 203 and 204 don't have any plans to lengthen the school day or school term, and District 203 is bound to its current school year by its terms with the teachers union. Also, factors like bus scheduling have to be taken into account.
Despite those objections, The Sun asked readers of its Potluck Blog if they thought students should be spending more time in the classroom. Here are some of their answers.
"Just teach the kids what they are supposed to be taught during normal hours. Don't use public school as public funded day care for people." -- Original Joe
"No. Spend the presently allotted time teaching the kids instead of training them for federally mandated tests (caused by No Child Left Behind, one of President Bush's biggest mistakes)." -- Ken
"I would take this over the hours and hours of homework. Family time would be a novelty." -- Anonymous
"We need more parental involvement with the education of our children. I see an overemphasis on sports in Naperville and not enough energy spent on academics. When volunteer coaches are needed for teams, they are usually plentiful. When volunteers are requested for tutoring or other non-sports tasks, they are scarce to find. Neighbors spend huge amounts of money on travel sports teams. I have neighbors who spend over $20,000 per son on private hockey clubs. However, they wouldn't spend a fraction of that amount to get a qualified tutor for one of their kids who is struggling with math. Why?" -- Concerned Mom
"The right-wing naysayers say no, but Japan says otherwise -- they go to school 1/2 day most Saturdays and have only a six-week summer break. Longer days, shorter vacations are needed to help our nation compete in the world market. These are the kids who will being paying taxes in the future. I want them as well prepared as can be." -- Southeast Side
"We have to alter schedules in 204 to get teachers to attend meetings/planning -- the unions are going to go for a few more hours a day, or adding another day? And the extra salary money would come from where if we had to hire more teachers? Would be nice if Barack and Arne thought this through before putting this out." -- Anonymous
"Can you say raise taxes? The cost of living here is already much higher due to extremely high school taxes. Salaries for teachers, administrators and staff as well as operational costs will climb even higher. How about this for a novel idea? Cut silly stuff from the program and spend more time each day on basics -- writing, literature, science and math. Carve out a little time each week for music and art. But focus on the basics that created the intellectual wealth that the U.S. enjoyed during the '50s and '60s and '70s." -- Anonymous
"If you would like us to 'teach the right things during school hours' then district curriculum committees and other local educational entities should take a hard look at each core subject area's required curriculum, or focus. Most are a mile long and an inch deep, to quote a high-ranking district employee. ... We're focusing on minutia when we could be focusing on key elements over the long haul." -- 203 Teacher and Parent
