DCImonkey Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 unless he also proposes a way to PAY for students to go to school longer, this is a non issue.1. No. Time during the school day is not spent productively. Bad teachers should be fired. 2. Students should not spend more time in school. 3. Yes, and we would quickly be out 5-10 corps, probably. Down to everyone makes the top 12, yay. 4. see first sentence. Students are not falling behind their counterparts because they aren't in school enough. They are falling behind because bad teachers keep their jobs. Because students are rewarded for effort rather than outcome. Because the standards are too low. Raise the standards and students will meet them. It is unacceptable that there are middle school kids who do not know their multiplication tables. They have should have never progressed beyond 3rd grade. Less students should go to college (the US 6 year graduation rate is terrible) and more should go to trade / technical school. Our students are behind because our system is terrible. Going to school for longer in a terrible system will do nothing to fix the problem. I couldn't disagree with you any more. The standards are fine. We just cannot get the kids to reach those standards, because they don't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCImonkey Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I say if you're gonna extend anything, don't add more days. Instead, just make the school days we already have longer. It doesn't even have to be by much. Extend each class by 15 or 20 minutes. On the other hand, getting better teachers would probably help more than adding time would. I think both are good ideas. WRONG! Shorten classes. Classes are too long and kids aren't learning because they are burnt out. 90 minute HS classes? REALLY? College classes are 55 minutes to 1h15m max usually. HS kids can't be stuck in a class for 90 minutes and expect to learn anything. They'll shut down. Classes need to be shortened and the semesters need to be shortened and the kids will flourish. The dumb kids will fall behind, but that's how we can identify who really needs the extra time and those extra hours during the day can be used to remediate those kids that REALLY need the extra time. The smart kids go home and then the other kids have something to aim for......learn, master, leave early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruckner8 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Just to keep balance, this was also in the attached article: ------------ 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. Kids in the U.S. spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests — Singapore (903), Taiwan (1,050), Japan (1,005) and Hong Kong (1,013). That is despite the fact that Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong have longer school years (190 to 201 days) than does the U.S. (180 days). ------------- So, adding a week or two won't change much. It might hurt the quality for the lower corps, but the excellent ones won't blink. If Obama is really looking to extend the school year all-year-round, then that age-limit rule might need a little more consideration, since HS kids will be OUT. And as another poster said, where will the corps stay? DCI will have to get very creative with the housing, or just start doing shows on weekends, like DCA. (The DCI corps would rehearse all week at some "home base" and then travel to a show on a Friday, stay overnight Fri/Sat/Sun and then find another "home base" or drive back to the original home base.) There might be some schools big enough, and DCI-friendly enough to swing it during the week...but the plannig would have to be done WELL in advance...no more of this crap where corps don't have housing a week before an event! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I can only speak of my own experience regarding class length, and only how it affects music classes. At one HS I taught at in SoCal, we went to block scheduling after my first year there. Mondays we had all classes, Tues/Thurs was period 1,3,5, Wed/Fri period 2,4,6. Monday classes were 50 minutes, but the other days were almost two hours. Anyone who has tought music in a traditional 50-55 minute class knows you can hardly get instruments out of the case, warm up and tune up, and maybe 20-30 minutes rehearsal before instruments go back in the case so they can get to their next class. In the block schedule, with the additional time, we got more done in two days than we would have in four days in the previous scheduling. Regarding longer semesters would have on drum corps, I could see the regional model making a return. More local shows in the first part of the year, and a shorter tour to finals. It would require a major overhaul of the schedule as it is, but might be a way to save drum corps from itself, re: the national touring/recruiting model. Garry in Vegas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paralda Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 (edited) Longer school days wouldn't be any more effective, unless handled appropriately. For instance, studies show that a block schedule (3 classes a day) combined with a 4 day week (this would increase each day's school day, but there are less) increases productivity a great deal, and lowers the operating costs of a school. Smaller class sizes do this very well, too. But I can't imagine longer school days helping at all, really. They would just throw in more electives. WRONG! Shorten classes. Classes are too long and kids aren't learning because they are burnt out. 90 minute HS classes? REALLY? College classes are 55 minutes to 1h15m max usually. HS kids can't be stuck in a class for 90 minutes and expect to learn anything. They'll shut down. Classes need to be shortened and the semesters need to be shortened and the kids will flourish. The dumb kids will fall behind, but that's how we can identify who really needs the extra time and those extra hours during the day can be used to remediate those kids that REALLY need the extra time. The smart kids go home and then the other kids have something to aim for......learn, master, leave early. I'm going to have to disagree. My school uses a block schedule (100 minute periods), and is a K-12 school. The extra 50 minutes is actually extremely helpful, especially for music related classes, and it gives you an extra day to work on homework and the such. Edited September 28, 2009 by Paralda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjordansc Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 It is not a President's job to dictate the length of a school year. That is up to the states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 3. Yes, and we would quickly be out 5-10 corps, probably. Down to everyone makes the top 12, yay. yep, I see the probobility of about 12 touring corps that will teach classes, and then the return to regional circuits, with a comminity based, weekend only activity overall,............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaml6 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Woodwinds will have to be allowed because they cannot teach them how to play brass anymore... kinda the same reason for the new stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyfromhowardst Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 The only extended class I had in HS was concert band--9th and 10th periods from 1:45 'till 3:15. That was so if we were horrible, we could extend band practice after school and not miss class. I wonder how other countries fare at formal education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Students are not falling behind their counterparts because they aren't in school enough. They are falling behind because bad teachers keep their jobs. Because students are rewarded for effort rather than outcome. Because the standards are too low. Raise the standards and students will meet them. It is unacceptable that there are middle school kids who do not know their multiplication tables. They have should have never progressed beyond 3rd grade. Less students should go to college (the US 6 year graduation rate is terrible) and more should go to trade / technical school. Our students are behind because our system is terrible. Going to school for longer in a terrible system will do nothing to fix the problem. I agree. I have family members who are teachers. I think the good teachers out there deserve a bigger paycheck, and the bad ones should be cut loose. Fran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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