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One Man’s School Is Another Man’s Prison
By the time this issue of L&L
hits mailboxes, the U.S. school
year will be wrapping up and
students will be anticipating a three-month summer break.
And U.S. Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan doesn’t like that one bit.
Before an audience of 400 middle
and high school students in Denver
recently, he said U.S. schools should
be open six days a week for at least
11 months a year to improve student
performance. “Go ahead and boo me,”
Duncan told the students. “You’re
competing for jobs with kids from
India and China.”
That sentiment prompted heated
responses from several ed tech bloggers and their followers.
Bill Ferriter, in his blog The Tempered Radical, wasn’t very tempered
in his reaction: “Does anyone REALLY believe that extra time will lead
to anything BUT additional mind-numbing madness for our kids?”
David Warlick, who writes the blog
2 Cents Worth, started out with a pre-emptive apology for the title of his post,
“Let’s just put them all in jail 24/7.”
“This is one of those posts where
I might have gotten carried away,”
he wrote, explaining that he borrowed
the title from a comment someone left
when he posted Duncan’s quotes on
Facebook and Twitter. His remorse
didn’t last long, however:
Let’s face it, we’re talking about
nothing less than institutionalizing “child labor” to satisfy a failed belief that higher standardized
test scores will reliably lead to a
stronger economy, more prosperous citizens, and a vibrant democracy. What it leads to is boredom,
If the schooling system you have isn’t
doing the trick, more of it won’t do the trick either.
collapsing morale among our in school 6 days a week, 12+
best teachers, children without hours a day (including cram
passion, children dropping out, school) will do to kids. They have
and a growing and prospering no real interest in learning, no
testing industry. lives outside of school. They’re
soulless drones. Sure, if you want
His post garnered dozens of com-
workers, it’s fine, but if we want to
ments, most supporting his outrage:
continue the American tradition
If the schooling system you have of invention, it’s a surefire way to
isn’t doing the trick, more of it kill it. —Kelsey Freeman
won’t do the trick either. They
© ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/TERESANNE
Brian Crosby, who writes the blog
don’t need more school. They
Learning is Messy, said Warlick left
need better school. As if the poor
out some important considerations.
kids haven’t got enough on their
plates already! —Karyn Romeis Extra time IS a bad idea, a really
bad idea, if it is just more time
I see far too many students whose
and intensity of what is being
passion for learning is being ex-
done now.
tinguished in the name of better
performance. I’m all for having As I’ve said over and over, the
standards and holding students lack of experience with sports,
accountable for their learning, but the arts (including dance, drama,
they also need time to be kids, and music), scouting and other
and to pursue what they are pas- outdoor education, attending
sionate about. —Gerald Aungst camp, and the like have major
detrimental effects on the overall
We have to decide what the
education of students of poverty.
purpose of education is. Do we
So if the extra time Duncan refers
produce workers or cogs in the
to is spent in these areas (and a
corporate wheel? Do we produce
few others) then I believe he is
patriotic engaged citizens? Or
on the right track and I would
do we produce young men and
support him.
women who think critically, lead
boldly, build creatively, and live
humanely? —Charlie A. Roy
Hours spent learning in a classroom—important. Hours spent
learning independently—
priceless! —Jane McConnell Greenspun
As a teacher here in Korea, I
have witnessed what having kids
Resources
2 Cents Worth, “Let’s just put them all in jail”:
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1718
Learning is Messy, “Extra Time In School?
If Done Right, I’m For It!”: http://learning
ismessy.com/blog
The Tempered Radical, “Arne’s Half-Baked Plan
for Fixing Schools”: http://teacherleaders.
typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/2009/
04/ arne-and-the-overcooked-pie-.html
Diana Fingal is the senior editor for L&L. She has been writing for and editing periodicals for more than 20 years.
