Longer school days :(

[Jenkins]

I'm in college in 3 years, suckers! Muhahaha. Oh, well. That really sucks for kids who are still young.

It's excellent. Our schools are some of the worst compared to other developed nations and his plan makes me very happy. I'm not looking forward to having a longer school year but I know it will be good for our country in the long run.

I dunno if longer school years will really help.

unless you are NOT in the U.S, that means that you are only a freshman in High school, you are still young.

 

[gmer412]

I'm in college in 3 years, suckers! Muhahaha. Oh, well. That really sucks for kids who are still young.

It's excellent. Our schools are some of the worst compared to other developed nations and his plan makes me very happy. I'm not looking forward to having a longer school year but I know it will be good for our country in the long run.

I dunno if longer school years will really help.

unless you are NOT in the U.S, that means that you are only a freshman in High school, you are still young.

Sophomore, actually. I rounded the half-year up. And I guess so...

 

[Spleeni]

Pfft, I'll show my contempt of schools by linking to someone who very well knows what they're talking about:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
If you're lazy, go to 8:45

I'm a senior in High School, and I have no bloody idea what I'm going to do, or how I'm going to do it. I DO know how to do Math, I can read like a demon... which I developed by passing the time when teachers were pulling up the slower students. I have great writing skills...which I grew naturally, and I know it's natural since my mom did ALL my early essays for me.

I KNOW that I've been molded for testing, for questioning, for being perfect. Admitting my mistakes used to be very hard for me to do, until I realized a few things.

Honestly, looking back at my school career, do you know what I find to be my greatest accomplishment? Not failing. I have ability, but not drive. There's all this content in pushing everyone's ability, but the administration seems not to care if half their students commit suicide at the end of it.

 

[Goldbling]

Utterly pointless, schooling prior to college is essentially a cheap form of babysitting. The educational system is astonishingly poor; to the extent I estimate that 80% to 90% of what you learn within the aforementioned period of time is useless, serving little purpose in assisting you in your life at a later time.

Even college is questionable however if you choose a specific course to focus your studies upon than you will indeed benefit however those whom go to college as if it were measured as a higher learning experience to that of High School are likely to be wasting their time. The reason I hold this statistics, which admittedly are only my own? If unused for a large duration ? approximately two years or less ? we have a tendency to forget what we have learned.

Furthermore I cite all the numerous six figure salary or high five figures that require half what is taught today in public schools. While I know algebra, I will never have a single use for it, not within the field I intend to work nor would a vast majority of people. What intrigued and frankly enlightened my point of view upon this subject was when I quit public High School following grade nine; which I failed however biased teaching and an abundance of issues; terrible school.

Anyhow, I went through a Home Schooling program, which asked my grade. I stated ten at the time because I found I should not be held accountable for not passing grade nine when it had been impossible to do so. School had no qualms, completely voided I ever failed and I finished grades ten, eleven and twelve all within six months; I was finished the program by age fifteen and had my diploma at sixteen all with honor role marks, with the one exception if I recall.

I know Home Schooling is easier and more time efficient however this is pushing the notion to a significant degree; to pass three years ahead of the norm considered age? And can anyone wonder why I believe public school prior to college (and only if it courses) is a pointless endeavor? I have learned more from the Internet, Television and videogames than I ever did in school.

Whats that program called? i might just take it, I already know everything about anything I will need to know to get through high school

Edit: if they have one for Texas

 

[sky14kemea]

yay ive already left school

but i feel the pain of those who havent >_< that'd be awful

i live near a school... they're gonna be coming out at the end of the day in a worse mood, i'd better hide in the attic or something...

 

[Jak The Great]

meh, more education is exactly what this country needs. as for the longer days it's not like high school aged kids do anything that demands their time. Homework as it stands is a joke. A part time job will pale in comparison to a full time job making real money, so I say go ahead and make the days longer. It's for your own good. Thank you Obama for actually caring about the education of our youth. I won't be able to benefit, but at least my children will.

The thing is, this isn't going to provide more education for most kids!
Longer year=/=More educated children
More funding=/=More educated children
All that a longer year will do is torture the kids who understand what's going on and everything, so that they have to stay in school, learning and relearning information even more, whereas the kids who don't care about it will continue to not care about it, but they'll care about it even less because they're sitting in school when the school year should have been over by then.

and what about those kids that are on the border. The ones who don't quite understand but are close to getting it? Do you think that more time isn't going to help them? I knew quite a few people like that, and all they needed to understand the problem was just a few more hours, which is what Obama is proposing.

For the ones who are bored and understand everything: Get your GED and go to college if it's that un-challenging for you.

For the ones who don't care anyways: McDonalds might be willing to hire you.

As for the torture thing: Get over it. You go to school at 8 and get out at 3. Do you know how much I would love to have that schedule right now? a 7 hour day including lunch? That would be awesome. So Obama will make you get out at 5? Welcome to the real world. It will make you appreciate when you have to work that long, but actually get paid for it. So Obama will make your school year longer? You still get 3 months off, not including the breaks during the year. Try getting a week a year off, if that, and then come talk to me. All this is doing is preparing you for reality

I hear this argument a lot, and I have one thing to say on the subject: Shut up about it.
Yes, whatever, the real world and all that good crap, but I, among most high schoolers, don't need to be prepared for it. We understand that life is going to be hard and that we won't get all these breaks and crap ever again, which is EXACTLY why we should get it. For the first years of your life, up until you hit college, you get to take the easy way out. You get to do the easy things. What is the point of childhood if not being carefree? Being without worr, being let out early, watching cartoons, are these things not sacred?
So, now, they're deciding to take all of our lovely little children, extend their days, make them wake up early, tell them that if you don't do good in high school, you automatically fail at everything forever...Effectively turn them into stress freaks who never do anything, or take any risks. Then, on top of that, there's the homework. We go to school all day, sitting in horribly uncomfortable positions for nearly seven hours, five days a week. Yeah, that's all fine and well, but we go home, and get a chance to relax, when suddenly, Bang. A math assignment, history, English, where does it end? So the only real chance to relax is going to sleep at night. And yes, I understand about eight-hour work days at the office and all of that, but at least you guys get a chance to move around and stretch your legs without getting punished for it. At least you guys get a chance to sit in chairs that don't realign your spinal cord and hurt your back constantly. It is purely my (non)professional opinion that if you go to an all-day school, the rest of your day until bed time shouldn't be taken up by homework.
Granted, I myself never actually do it until I get to school the next day, or during school the same day it is received.
But, as I previously stated, you are effectively taking lots of nice, great little children and turning them into stress freaks. Sure, prepare them for the real world and all that crap, but school and work are not the same thing, no matter how much you try to justify reasons that they are.

haha I'm not even going to try to argue with you. You will not understand it until you are older. I WISH they had done that for me, it would have prepared me to try harder, and push further.

I treated High school as a joke, as it was, a waste of my time. That attitude carried over into my college career, and hurt my GPA badly for the first year. I couldn't get scholarships to pay for my tuition. So I had to button down the hatches to succeed, and all that stress I endured during that time I could have avoided if I had done more in High school to get a scholarship.

Also, try doing your homework at the last minute in college. I did and my friends did. You know the ones who were bored with classes because they knew everything? the 4.2 GPAs? yeah that didn't turn out well.

I will ask you one more question: What is the purpose of school? You sure make it sound like a device that is used to torture young children.

Mah fingers are gettin' tired...=P
The purpose of school is to teach about shtuff and to help prepare for college. College is for preparing for the real world. It's not a device to torture kids, but have you MET some of these kids? I feel like I go to a building full of stressed-out zombies every day, they're so focused on trying to do good in school that they miss out on the good things in life, like jokes, and novels, and all that good stuff. The only thing that exists for many of them is school, and that is very discouraging, wouldn't you think so?

Meh, I'm also running out of things to say in response to this stuff. Yeah, I know that college works that way, but high school doesn't. I'll start doing things the right way when I'm faced with a situation in which I have to, you know? It keeps me sane, unlike everyone else in my school.

I have met those kids, And I still know them. They are pretty successful and have gotten what they wanted out of life. But they also know how to relax too. The tricky part is finding the balance. Trust me, it's easy to stress out when you go to work each day wondering if it's going to be your last day there because of the economy.

So how do I unwind? By blowing some heads off, or saving Azeroth through my many many quests that don't seem to help anything. Most of my friends are that way too. and while the schooling was hard and grueling, sometimes of their own accord, they can now say that it is because of their schooling that they can play even harder.

As for missing out on things, you'd be surprised at what they have time to do, they just know where they want to go in life, and what it will take to get them there. I have a friend who's an accountant at one of the largest auditing firms in the world, she's working 12-13 hour days, but still finds the time to go out to dinner with me and my wife, still finds time to play rock band, and still finds time to build web pages. You only miss out what you choose to miss out on.

I wish you the best of luck in the future, and hope your dreams will carry you far. just remember that your education will help you reach those goals.

 

[Dudemeister]

Well, since I go to school in the UK, may I say, HA!

 

[Clashero]

I don't like the idea of having more years of schooling (12 is quite enough), but longer days and more days per year sounds great. I studied at an American public school for 1 year and a half and I was amazed at how easy it was. I was learning stuff I'd learned 3 years ago in Argentina.

 

[Jerious1154]

I went to school for a year longer than average due to country hopping alot, It wasn't so bad. Infact I'd go so far as to say it helped. I don't think I'd have been ready for some of my exams a year earlier.

So quit moaning, once its the norm, people are generally accepting. I'd say an extra year in school isn't so bad really, some people struggle to hit maturity, and the more that do it quickly and in school, with that extra little stretch of time, the better.

But he never specified if it was going to be one, two, or even three years longer. I imagine three with how much Obama likes to spend

It's going to be zero years longer, because he never said anything about adding years, only days/hours.

 

[SquirrelPants]

-Hugegantic snip-
I wish you the best of luck in the future, and hope your dreams will carry you far. just remember that your education will help you reach those goals.

Yeah, I see how all that you say makes sense. You've gone farther in life than I have, so you obviously have more experience with it, but the point is that a lot of the kids have lost their good old childhood charm, which really sucks.
I mean, I'll probably never lose that, and I hope you haven't. Thanks for that interesting conversation, I'd say I've made most of the points I've come here to make. =D

 

[00010101]

oh...harsh...poor school kids. Just wondering, would this apply for only the middle schools and high schools? If it does, be prepared for longer school days!

 

[KenzS]

If it solves america's education problem(which it probably won't), i'm all for it.

 

[letsnoobtehpwns]

Fuck that. I can't stand school. My school makes me wish I was dead.

 

[ssgt splatter]

ok that sucks, i don't care who you are

 

[Lyiat]

Longer school days and years do not equal to a better schooling system. Fix the problem before changing the cycle, damnit!

... I'm in College now, though. >>; None of my business, really.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

The US's primary middle and high schools suck, let them do everything they can to improve education in this country.

Depends on the high schools in the area.. High schools in my area are pretty damn good.

 

[Goldbling]

Where I live the schools are adding 45 minutes to the school day to compensate for time lost due to an ice storm. Let me tell you it is not fun, nor does it do anything for our education, seeing as all the students are exhausted and don't pay attention anyway!

sorry for saying this earlier but, we are getting 1 hr. because of Ike, It sucks

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Damn Damn Damn Damn Damn.
How easily the best can turn to the Dark Side... (NO RACISM INTENDED! SERIOUSLY!)
How about having some input from the students or parents of students, or just raising hourly pay?

 

[white_salad]

Leaving school next year, damn you Obama!!!...actually this is probably good, more days means more teacher pay, and that's good for them and for me later. Plus school isn't horrible, just the people there.

 

[Goldbling]

meh, more education is exactly what this country needs. as for the longer days it's not like high school aged kids do anything that demands their time. Homework as it stands is a joke. A part time job will pale in comparison to a full time job making real money, so I say go ahead and make the days longer. It's for your own good. Thank you Obama for actually caring about the education of our youth. I won't be able to benefit, but at least my children will.

The thing is, this isn't going to provide more education for most kids!
Longer year=/=More educated children
More funding=/=More educated children
All that a longer year will do is torture the kids who understand what's going on and everything, so that they have to stay in school, learning and relearning information even more, whereas the kids who don't care about it will continue to not care about it, but they'll care about it even less because they're sitting in school when the school year should have been over by then.

and what about those kids that are on the border. The ones who don't quite understand but are close to getting it? Do you think that more time isn't going to help them? I knew quite a few people like that, and all they needed to understand the problem was just a few more hours, which is what Obama is proposing.

For the ones who are bored and understand everything: Get your GED and go to college if it's that un-challenging for you.

For the ones who don't care anyways: McDonalds might be willing to hire you.

As for the torture thing: Get over it. You go to school at 8 and get out at 3. Do you know how much I would love to have that schedule right now? a 7 hour day including lunch? That would be awesome. So Obama will make you get out at 5? Welcome to the real world. It will make you appreciate when you have to work that long, but actually get paid for it. So Obama will make your school year longer? You still get 3 months off, not including the breaks during the year. Try getting a week a year off, if that, and then come talk to me. All this is doing is preparing you for reality

But see I start my [school] day at 7:15 and I only get 30min. for lunch, that sound more like work to you?

Edit: and while every other school got off for presidents day, MLKJr. day, and columbus day and LA. got off for martigras, I was in school, learning absolutely nothing