The Argument Against Longer School Days

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Longer School Days: Why We Shouldn’t Lengthen the Day

We have all seen the debate in the news no matter what area of Illinois you may live in, whether or not the Chicago Public Schools should lengthen the school day. In an online forum it states that during a meeting Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard vowed to add 90 minutes to each school day and two weeks to the school year by the fall of 2012. (Erbentraut J. 2011) The Chicago Public School board, CPS teachers’ union and Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel need to take into consideration the effects that lengthening the school day by an additional 90 minutes will have on students, parents, teachers, and the school community. Lengthening the school day will have several negative results including: student time management, attendance, teacher workload vs. pay received and an increase to the already high taxes that Chicagoans pay. As an alternative to lengthening the school day, there should be tougher truancy laws and penalties to parents who do not take responsibility for their own children.

“Research has shown that the amount of learning is a function of capacity, effort, time and quality of resources. Effort is a variable determined by the student and motivators for students, whether extrinsic or intrinsic are found in all aspects of a child’s life- both in and out of school.” (Levin,1984). Students these days already struggle with balancing school, extracurricular activities, athletics, homework, relationships and family. Adding an additional 90 minutes a day impedes on this balance. Students should have a voice and a say in how they handle their time and the stress and pressures that time constraints put on them. In an online forum called “Teen Ink” written by an...

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...w.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/23/chicago-board-of-educatio_n_934333.html

Guzzardi , W. (2010, August 25). Ten chicago neighborhoods with the highest property taxes [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/25/ten-chicago-neighborhoods_n_694851.html

Karp, S. (2011, October 27). Charters line up for extended-day cash. Catalyst Chicago. Retrieved from http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/2011/10/27/charters-line-extended-day-cash

Levin, H. M., & Stanford Univ., C. e. (1984). Clocking Instruction: A Reform Whose Time Has Come?IFG Policy Perspectives. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Spielman, F. (2011, August 30). Emanuel: I can’t wait for ‘high-class debate’ on longer school day . Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/7367519-418/emanuel-i-cant-wait-for-high-class-debate-on-longer-school-day.html

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