The Costco Connection

READER COMMENTS

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INFORMEDDEBATE

Start later and remove homework.

My daughter brings home two hours’ worth of homework in fourth grade. It’s unacceptable. I’m not expected to bring my work home with me. Kids need time to be kids and participate in extracurricular activities, not be bogged down with more school work.—Nicholas Martin

If we were doing what’s best for their ability to learn and maintain [what they learn], not based on parents’ workday schedules, the days would be slightly shorter. [They would] start at 9 (some kids are on bus routes 45 minutes one-way every day), and there would not be such a long summer break to forget things. The problem in America is that everything has evolved to be around adults’ work schedules.

—Shelly Grinnell Graves

I think it’s not the [quantity of] time spent at school that needs work;

it’s the quality of time spent.

Kids need smaller groups and more one-on-one attention.

—Mandy White Prestine

In the Netherlands, they found people were more productive and happier when they worked six-hour days. They literally got more work done in six hours than in eight or even 10.

—Dave Houser

Shorter school days are not the solution. Year-round schools are.

Statistics have proven that kids have less retention when they go from grade to grade because of the long break over the summer.

—Jessica Tucker

Personally, I think a longer school day would be better. The extra time can be spent in recess or physical education. Recess time is so limited where my kids attend school.

—Rebecca Totra

My kids go to a school where the school day is five hours and 20

minutes. That time includes all academics, art, music, lunch, etc., and the time is the same through high school. Best decision our family ever made.

—Sarah Milem

Are shorter school
days a good idea?

LEGISLATURES AROUND the country are discussing the length of the school day, with some calling for fewer hours. Proponents say fewer hours in school could afford opportunities for additional educational or vocational experiences, community service or after-school jobs, not to mention savings for school districts via less utility usage and lower wages for teachers and other employees. Opponents point to the reduction in instructional time and the potential need to prolong the school year to meet classroom requirements.