President Obama said money alone won't fix the state of our nation's education system. He believes significant reform is necessary, including lengthening the school year. In response, the Lubbock Independent School District releases this statement:
"New ideas that are proven to make a difference are certainly worthy of consideration. Educators realize that some things that were effective in the past might have to change in order to meet the needs of our world today. The amount of time spent in school is important, but how the time is spent is equally important."
Unfortunately for the president, determining the length of the school year is actually a decision made on state and local levels. Students in other countries attend school a month longer than Americans and some believe it helps with retention.
Shariene Sessions, a certified teacher, said, "For children it's probably a good thing, because then they keep on learning. When they have those breaks, some of those children don't retain the information like they need to. On the teacher aspect, that's also true.”
Several Monterey High School students said they've got enough on their plates as it is.
"Pretty much there is enough school already, plus we're in high school. It's just too much with athletics and all that. Plus the extracurricular activities, it's just too much right now."
"I think a lot more kids will be ditching school, because they wouldn't want to be in school longer. They're going to want a break to prepare for next year, because they're going to lose a lot of sleep."
Instead of more time in school, one teacher suggests activities to keep the creative juices flowing.
"Creative stuff for the children, so they can express themselves besides just writing, math and reading books. That helps children retain what they've learned is by creativity," Sessions said.
For now, no changes to the current school calendar; whether the White House will pressure the nation to implement changes, remains to be seen.
