Would you like your children to attend school for eight hours straight, five days a week? It may sound a bit excessive to some parents. However, there are some school districts that have implemented an extended school day. It turns out that there are several benefits to doing so.
Extended school days, which are also called extended learning time, have gained popularity within charter schools. Some charter schools may have a bit more freedom about how long their school day runs than some public schools do. That doesn’t mean it would be impossible for an extended school day to be implemented in public schools, though.
There is an article in The Atlantic titled “Kids Who Spend All Day at School”. It was written by Liz Riggs and posted on May 30, 2014. The article gives an overview of what an extended school day is like as well as some of the benefits.
Extended school days allow for longer class periods. This means that teachers get more time to present the lessons and students get more time to work on new skills. It also means that teachers have more time to assist students who are struggling.
A longer school day makes it possible to add in the types of classes that tend to get cut out of “regular” school days. Students can get the proper amount of physical education classes, can participate in regular music and art classes and have time to learn a second language. They have the opportunity to learn, at school, the type of things that parents typically have to supplement with extra-curricular activities or by hiring tutors.
Teachers who work at schools that have extended school days are able to have a set amount of planning time built into the school day. This reduces the amount of work that teachers have to do during their breaks and after school. It enables teachers to come up with more robust, interesting, lessons for students to participate in.
Teachers wouldn’t have to give up their weekends to finish grading papers anymore. This could reduce teacher burn-out and result in well rested teachers who are better able to assist students.
The extra time grants so much potential. It is the difference between lesson plans that briefly mention volcanoes followed by a short video about them, and a lesson plan that includes those things and allows the students to do some “hands-on” learning by building a model volcano right there at school.
Image by pfly on Flickr.
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