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Obama Makes a Push To Add Time To the School Year

N!NJA sends in a proposal that is sure to cause some discussion, especially among students and teachers. Obama and his education secretary say that American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage in comparison to other students around the globe. "'Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas,' the president said earlier this year. 'Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom.' 'Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today,' Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. ... 'Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here,' Duncan told the AP. 'I want to just level the playing field.' ... Kids in the US spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the US 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)."

10 of 1,073 comments (clear)

  1. Another Cash Infusion for the Teacher's Unions ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Obama is clearly paying back all the Unions for their support during the election. First it was trying to pass legislation eliminating the secret ballot (and in part the Democratic process) to allow unions to put pressure on any hold outs at non-unionized shops.

    Now, our children are the potential victims as he tries to eliminate family time, time for our kids to play with their friends, and simply "growing up time" by extending school hours and the school year so that one of the most powerful unions in the nation get even more money -- and can support him even more the next election cycle.

    Obama's taken all the change I can handle and if he keeps it up, I won't have any change left!

  2. Re:Waste MORE time!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Yes, let's go back to less school and just accept the majority of our students being dumber.

    And, seriously, what the fuck is up with your last paragraph? Do you even understand the last 8 years? No? Maybe you'd be better off if you spent more time in school, learning some history and economics.

  3. Re:Waste MORE time!? by tsm_sf · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I see this happening to the point of tens (probably hundreds) of thousands of young adults being unfairly burdened with student loans when they are never going to use those degrees to pay back said loans.

    Really? You see this happening to hundreds of thousands of students? What is your vantage point? From where I'm looking, the kids are alright.

    rather than being indoctrinated into the living-outside-of-your-means credit based lifestyle President Obama seems to be pushing for now. Fuck him and fuck that.

    Ahh, ok I get it. You're in the "that black bastard's not going to tell me what to do, even if it's stay in school" crowd. Good luck with that.

    --
    Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.
  4. Re:Waste MORE time!? by Xtravar · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I'm pretty fucking sure that most parents know by the time their little brats are in middle (jr. highschool) school whether or not their child is college material, and should be adjusting their future goals accordingly instead of throwing on the blinders and being 110% supporting of their kids unrealistic goals.

    Yeah, in fact, we should euthanize them if they're judged useless at this age.

    Bitter jackass.

    --
    Buckle your ROFL belt, we're in for some LOLs.
  5. Re:Another Cash Infusion for the Teacher's Unions by jcr · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I guess I better get on exerting my union power and demanding wages that come somewhere within 10k of what someone with a comparable education and skill set has in industry. I won't even talk about hours.

    Union power has nothing to do with benefiting the members. The rank and file are victims of the thugs, too.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  6. Re:Quality over quantity by mog007 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    But even if told, by God himself, exactly what needs to be done, American politicians would still screw it up.

    I've had quite enough of my politicians listening to "God", thank you very much. Didn't "God" tell Bush that we'd be victorious with that whole Iraq situation?

  7. Re:Waste MORE time!? by intheshelter · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    "being indoctrinated into the living-outside-of-your-means credit based lifestyle President Obama seems to be pushing for now. Fuck him and fuck that."

    Feel free to pull your Fox News brainwashed head out of your ass.

  8. Re:Waste MORE time!? by intheshelter · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Citation needed for what? Nice try, but get a clue.

  9. Re:Waste MORE time!? by nomadic · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    You need engineers to do inspired work

    Uhhh..like what? Apple's never come out with anything truly innovative, they're just very good at UIs and designing the physical shells of hardware.

  10. Re:Waste MORE time!? by intheshelter · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    It's my lawn too you retard. And let's not forget that it was your unchecked capitalism which caused the massive economic problems that Obama has to fix. Feel free to put the blame squarely where it belongs, the administration in power for the last 8 years. Obama is just stuck cleaning up their mess.

    As for totalitarianism, take a look at the past administration as well. They presided over the biggest executive power grab and flaunting of the constitution that this nation has ever known. We are probably closer to a totalitarian government than at any other time in our country's history. The current President can read and understands the constitution. I'll take him over the idiot parade you seem to prefer any day.

    And as for not knowing Fox News, I think you're lying. If you wouldn't have known about them then you would have said that earlier. Now you're just attempting to weasel out of the trap your own lies have created. In short, you're full of shit.