Florida district is pushing and discussing the possibilities of extending school days for an extra hour, since on other countries has longer school days. Rejecting the traditional 180-day, 6-hour schedule because educators believe there is not enough time to teach students what they need to know. But one has to look to the other side of the scale to see what is potentially being replaced by longer school hours.
What purpose is being served by extending school hours to eight or ten hours a day? What roles are shifted between teachers and parents, between homes and schools? There it is not the best idea to extend school hours for another hour.
There is a potential to use extended school days as a holding pen for kids in which teachers become baby sitters instead of educators. Creating meaningful, expanded and extended learning opportunities takes a lot of time, effort and care.
education
Moodle Guide for Teachers
Phila. Teachers on Capitol Steps, Wash., D.C., 5/1...Without the time and energy to prepare these lessons for students, teachers will likely take the route of least effort.
The result might well be an extended recess period at the end of the day with little learning, lots of free time...and lots of opportunity for mischief. Free time in a place of learning is a recipe for disaster, and finally, who's to say that teachers would be willing to spend up to nine hours a day at school, caring for a substitute family of students? It is believed that teachers actually live underneath the stairwells of their schools; teachers actually do have families, friends and activities outside of the school hallways. How would they maintain their own life-work balance?While schools can be authorized to extend their days and teachers can be paid more money, until there is either a general agreement on public education or open choice of and competition between schools, more hours will not equate to better educated children. This would create chaos for students, and teachers would literally loose their enthusiasm for teachers, and students will not be willing to attend schools at all. What does the community wants more dropouts? Fights? Well is up to you, dear government!
Betonwerksteinskulptur "Lehrer-Student" von Reinha...
English: Students and teachers at Hebel State Scho...
Teachers