News Briefs
Federal push for longer school year
Oct 15, 2009 11:28 AM
The Obama administration wants to curtail students’ summer vacations, saying that the long break from the classroom puts U.S. students at a disadvantage with counterparts in other countries such as India and China and makes the U.S. work force less competitive.
“Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today,” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the Associated Press. “Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here. I want to just level the playing field.”
Duncan, charged with overhauling America’s educational system, is studying programs that keep kids in school longer to boost their academic achievement. A longer school year is one of several ideas under consideration as Duncan settles into his new role.
While it is true that kids in many other countries have more school days, it’s not true they all spend more time in school. Figures show U.S. kids already spend more hours in school than do kids in high-performing Asian countries.
New York Daily News, Sept. 28
Associated Press, Sept. 26
