by Dorothy Marie Kucera

Created on: May 18, 2008

A thousand times "NO!" to the idea of lengthening the school year. A student does not need more "time" in school to achieve higher grades-indeed, he/she desperately needs a full summer change of pace to refuel, regroup and be fresh to dive into studies the following fall again. Listen to the students who talk about being "burned out" when they take classes all summer. They cannot do their best at school the following year; it becomes a heavy albatross around their neck. They lose motivation, they are fatigued, they cannot give it their best. Do you really want them to risk getting lower grades for the next nine months because they took classes for three months prior without any break for a whole year?

Addressing the real concern about how to get students to achieve higher grades or retain earlier lessons, a student does need more efficient curriculum with a peaceful home and school environment to maximize his/her learning. The last two requirements for an ideal learning situation are a tall order. Consider what the student is up against.

Today's homes are divided or so overbooked with "busy" schedules that no one really has time to listen much less focus on their children, hear their cries or pleas for some supply item needed in a timely manner, be a true advocate or catch downward spirals of misbehavior, lack of interest and neglect of studies in time. To add to the problem, parents often force their children into unending sports, classes, all manner of things which take up so much time and exhaust the student. By the time they reach the hour of "homework," there is a desperate need to just relax and play, have a change of pace and not "have to meet" yet another time demand. Is anyone showing mercy and a balanced life to these students?

Schools are war zones with children nervously looking over their shoulders at times, distracted from listening to lectures. Discipline is lacking in classrooms, many critical teaching points of interest have been removed or banned from libraries and curriculum, teachers are not respected, other teachers are being arrested for horrendous crimes against youth, parents are not at home to support their children fully as these students are ordered to march onto the "front lines of battle" each day, so our youth watch all of this and do not know who to trust anymore. Childhood has been ripped away and they are not prepared for this new "adult" world that they have been thrust into at school. Dare they trust the words of any authority

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>