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I actually like the idea of year-round school and homeschool during the summer. Then when "life" happens, we can take a break whenever we feel like it.

My concern is that if we ask children to stay longer in schools, but don't make schools safer, we're really doing them a disservice. Oh, and they have to be able to get there and back reasonably safely from their homes. I am sickened by news from Chicago this morning. The only difference between THAT little boy and my son is his colour and location.

There should be much more outrage. What if that were a gang of homeschoolers doing attacking him, what sorts of laws would get passed immediately against homeschools? What sorts of statements would be out there, denouncing homeschoolers as being nutty and unsocialized? And yet there is no outcry against these public schools, that allow for such a culture to fester. If I hear that kids "need school so they can socialize" one more time, I may just yell at the speaker. Yet this rabble was the "peer group" there. Do you see Duncan putting his kid to school there, or an elite public in the leafy burbs somewhere? Yeah, I thought so.

I've also been witness to my own son repeatedly being locked in a closet in our local elementary. He is still frightened of the idea of "school" being a place you leave your family. I would happily send you a link to our high school's student handbook detailing how to hit children with wooden paddles if you emailed me privately. And I know our district isn't alone in its civil rights abuses. Did you read the COPAA report presented to Congress this year?

I'm suspicious of this idea that we ought to ask for such a large FINANCIAL contribution from the voters to educate children during the summer when our country is going through such economic turbulence. And yes, I *do* wonder what Obama and Duncan's agenda really is. But I think if you can't *reasonably* guarantee a child's safety in school, you can't reasonably ask parents to send their children or for taxpayers to foot the bill.

IMO Safety has GOT to be number one. Hey, my kids are learning Spanish from someone who speaks it worse than Peggy Hill, but they're safe. It breaks my heart to read this story... not everyone is safe.

I am truly sad this morning for that family.

My last year of teaching I arrived at school at 7:00 each morning. I taught until 2:40 and stayed until 3:00. At that time I'd go to a local restaurant to have a cup of coffee while reviewing student work or grading tests. I'd do that until 4:00. Once I got home I'd give myself a break of two hours or so and then start again at 7:00 in the evening planning for the next day. This preparation could take from one to three hours.

On Saturdays I could never resist the urge to visit Teacher Supplies to purchase new books and materials for the next week. Once my sons were out of college and the house paid for, I had a lot of discretionary money to spend on my class, which I enjoyed doing. Sometimes I'd treat myself to the deluxe teacher store in a nearby city. That trip often took three or four hours. I know I wasn't the only one doing it because every time I went I met a teacher from my district, or even my school. We were usually embarrassed to be there.

On Sundays, I often spent a half day preparing for the next week. I know my friends did also because now that I'm retired no one wants to go out on Sundays because "I have to get ready for school tomorrow."

Every summer I combined my vacation with a unit of study for my students. When I visited the Hermitage, my teacher friends and I headed right for the children's section of the bookstore. We always spent heaps of money on posters, books and realia.

Reading this over, I can see that teaching and my life were one and the same, but I know that I was not alone. Many teachers become consumed by the job. After all, we are basically the guardians of other people's children during the day. That's a very responsible job, and it's difficult to take your mind off of it.

So I am puzzled when people say teachers should work a longer day. Who would plan the lessons? Who would correct the work and look at the assessments? Who would examine new books and materials? American teachers already have more contact with students than teachers in almost all the other countries.

Actually I agree that the students need more classroom time, but other teachers must be employed to share the responsibility for a longer school day. In Europe and Asia, the main teachers teach in the morning and plan in the afternoons, when support teachers of art, music and P.E take over. It's time for us to do the same. In my opinion, American teachers are already working too many hours. Maybe that's one reason why half of them leave the profession during the first five years.

One more point:

During my 42 years of teaching, I taught at every level, including college. Whether the students were six years old, or twenty, I found it essential to be well prepared for class. I always told my student teachers and others that "planning" was the key to a successful lesson. Without it a teacher would have to resort to "busywork" or "winging it." Both result in wasted time for the students.

The only time I was paid for planning was when I was a college instructor. At that time I was paid for two hours of prep for every hour of class. Once I accepted a position as elementary teacher, all that stopped. For some reason, many people believe preparation isn't necessary to teach math and reading to little children.

KIPP leaders often brag that their teachers teach from 8:00 until 4:00 or 5:00 each day. I'd like to ask this question: When do the teachers prepare their lessons? When do they examine and evaluate student work?

Hello, Mrs. C--

I agree with you that the news out of Chicago is unspeakably tragic. We all mourn for that child's family and are dumbfounded at the brutality and cruelty. As for the question of students' safety, study after study confirms that students are generally safer in schools than outside of them. That holds especially true for students in urban areas. As for what happens to students who go to and from schools, that is a serious issues, but surely you can't lay all the blame for that at the feet of public schools! Schools must do their best to create a safe environment within their walls and to reinforce lessons about character and goodness, but they're up against so many corrosive influences out there. 

I had a friend in college who had grown up in a tough urban neighborhood. One reason for his rather stunning academic success in that environment was that the school was a sanctuary from the world around it. He spent many, many extra hours there to stay away from violence and difficult family circumstances. An extended day of his own making actually created a safer environment for him.

Linda--Thanks for your thoughtful reminder about how extended days would have to work. Simply getting teachers to teach more hours without considering the impact of those policies doesn't make sense. Nor does it make sense to extend time for learning without carefully thinking about how we spend the time we currently have.

You're right to point to other high-performing nations. Those nations create more time for student learning and more time for teacher preparation, collaboration, professional development, etc. The danger is that policymakers on our side of the pond will conclude that more time for learning is a good thing, pop another 30 or 40 minutes at the end of the school day, and then think they've done their good deed. Unless we consider how we use time for both teaching and learning, the results will likely be disappointing.

Maybe I'm playing "coulda, shoulda, woulda" in my mind as it just... is so very tragic. I very strongly identify that boy with my own. My son is the same age, also gifted. He was threatened to be shot ON THE SCHOOL BUS here in suburbia. The driver did nothing. Transportation department? Nothing. I called the principal and *he* got the cops involved. But he does voluntarily get on that bus each morning. He CHOOSES to go. In another neighbourhood, maybe that kid would have had a gun. But "Patrick" is 16, and though I hate school, I allow him to go. I keep encouraging him to hang out at home instead and you know like, free the shackles of his miiiiind, maaaan, but he'd rather take engineering classes and stay in the institution. I'm trying to be tolerant. :P

But for now, the government of Missouri will allow me (and in consequence, him) to decide where to go to school. If they require him to do summer hours, he may just decide homeschooling is mighty convenient and he will get the plum jobs during hours others can't work. :]