Chris Lehmann -- the #ubermind behind Practical Theory -- has been doing a bit of thinking around whether or not MORE time in school is REALLY a good thing.
His conclusion should make all y'all think:
(click to enlarge)
Download Slide_AlreadyHateSchool
Honest Question: How many of YOUR students already hate school? More importantly, what are YOU planning to do about it?
And remember to leave your "yeah, buts" at the door.
The discouraged kids in your classrooms aren't interested in excuses. They're ready for something different.
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Original Image Credit: Untitled by John Steven Fernandez
Licensed Creative Commons Attribution on November 27, 2012
Quote Credit: Chris Lehmann
The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves
I agree. I am a retired Career/Technical teacher who worked in a district where we had a number of students who would excel in a Career Tech program and probably enjoy school more. Instead our district is discouraging students from going to the local Voed school because we lose money. Furthermore, my state has gone to requiring 4 years of math instead of 3 to graduate from HS. This heavy emphasis on pure academics (coming from the federal govt on down to the districts) leaves many students behind, hating school.
Posted by: Joan | November 29, 2012 at 03:20 PM
Definitely agree. It's like administrators and legislators think there's a simple causal link between time and learning, such that more time must necessarily lead to more learning. If only it were so easy.
For the last couple years, my district has experimented with block scheduling sophomores and freshmen in their English and Math classes. Not a traditional A/B or 4x4 block. Just 2 periods of Math and English every day, all year.
The logistical change didn't come with any curricular change, so they essentially doubled the time that students spent in English and Math class without really changing what those students did in class. The result? Kids were bored, twice as much. Not to mention the resultant drop in registration for elective classes.
More time could be useful, but only if it is used in a way to tap into kids' interests and get them to do something that they enjoyed (or as Chris suggests, to simply gives kids time to do homework while supervised).
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