It's June 2, and I just saw a yellow school bus drive by. Last night I asked my sister Barbara, who teaches at Sandpoint High School, how much longer they had to go to school. She said the kids' last day is June 14, and the teachers' is June 15. The teachers have to report back to work by late August.
In between, many have to take a week here or a week there to catch up on summer school classes. With that in mind, it looks like their vacation has been pared to an average of six weeks. Why is it that kids and teachers need to spend more and more time in school these days? What happened to the old schedule of wrapping up the school year at the end of May and starting up again after Labor Day in September?
I don't know if our kids are getting any smarter because they sit in those classroom desks that much longer every year. I wonder if attendance challenges have grown over the past few years, partially because of the longer school-year schedules. I also wonder, with rising gas prices, why those buses can't have a longer vacation. Seems like the school districts could save thousands of dollars by cutting back to the old traditional three-month summer vacation.
Of course, as a teacher, I followed the rules, put in my time and seldom skipped school. Nonetheless, I always believed that too much time was wasted keeping kids confined in a room for X number of hours just to satisfy state requirements. Students don't learn more because of the number of minutes they spend in a classroom.
They learn when their classroom time is filled with inciteful instruction along with adequate practice time for doing their work under a teacher's supervision. And, speaking of doing their work, another educational pet peeve comes to mind. Many people believe that homework translates into more productive learning.
I would guess that in some cases it does, but when I think back on the sheer numbers of students who seldom did a lick of homework---even when it was assigned---I wonder about this premise. There seems to be a perceived notion that when homework is not assigned, kids are certainly being short-changed. I disagree.
I never felt the need to make an assignment every single night just to satisfy that notion. If we reached a stage where practicing what was preached was needed, my kids had homework. If not, they survived.
It seems we have many stereotypical views about what works and what doesn't with education, especially the one where teachers work six hours a day and get three months off every summer. I always laughed at that one when I advised the drill team and my school year ended on July 4 with the parade and started again in early August with drill team practice for football games.
We often forget that education is very individualized. Students learn at different paces; students learn with different kinds of instruction, and students don't necessarily learn because the teacher assigns a lot of homework or because those chairs where they sit for X hours each year radiate knowledge from the rear end upward.
I guess when we have public education, however, the folks in the know have to arrive at some general standards to make the whole operation work. So, I guess that's why I'll see that yellow school bus passing by our house until halfway through the summer.
I still think we learned just as much and maybe even more back in the days when the buses made their last run in May and didn't fire up again until September. And, that was when we all had longer attention spans. Maybe if those buses sat in their slots for more minutes each year without kids wearing them out, they could operate more efficiently when they go back to work--- just like their occupants.
1 comment:
Hi, Marianne,
I am sorry to be a comment hog so will try to keep this as short as possible.
The buses... As you know my guy keeps those yellow buses going down the road. And one of our biggest laughs is when people ask him what does he do on his 2 months vacation? And are surprised to hear he works right thru the whole summer.
First of all, the buses aren't all stabled at the bus shop and left for the 2 months. A lot of them are still busy transporting people. Some children and some adults. Adult as they are on stand by for the fire crews. The kids, are transported from Sandpoint West Ath. Club. for the greatest secret of Sandpoint. That is when the club with help from business men have a program for 10 to 12 year olds. They hike around the Sandpoint area, fish, learn tennis and many other things. (maybe you can contact them and see what all it is.. and blog about it, I did last year when my grandson was able to do 4 summer thru them.) But part of the program is to go to Silverwood and other Cda places. Also there are many field trips of one kind or another. Not all the buses are used but there are a few of them. They are rented out.
The mechanic also use this time to go thru the buses with a fine tooth comb. Taking wheels off and checking brakes, and changing tires, and touching up the scratches from the branches of trees on the side of buses, some times even over hauling a tired motor. But that part is getting less because of newer buses. Anyway, the bus mechanic are very busy all summer long, washing down the buses, fixing the buses slashed seats and etc.
Homework. It does seem like the kids are given a lot of homework compared to my days. So much so, it seems to glaze over the eyes of the students. Judging from my grandson and friends who have kids or grandkids. The major problem between parents and their kids, is when the parent see the report card or goes into for meetings with the teacher to be told that the child has not done their homework. And because that is 50% of the grade it is very important. More parents have come out of these meetings ready to strangle their child. Some because of the lack of doing the homework, or that they worked with the child on the homework so they knew it was done...but the child did not turn it in. I know my daughter has had many of frustrating minutes and hours over this. One time he had turn in supposedly 11 of them that was missing. The teacher found 5 of them in different piles on the desk box..but also there were 3 of them on a back counter, and 2 in his folder. My daughter wanted to pull hers and his hair out.
I think homework is important, but how much is the question. And children are procrastinators. So giving them an assignment that is due in 2 weeks, of course is rushed at the day before. We have been there ourselves, we have been there as a parent, and watched as a grandparent.
I don't know what the answer is..
Sorry this is so long....
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