A Real Definition of Insanity: The Economic Case for Year Round Education

Let me say the following two things.

      1. It is in the best interest of Educators to advocate for a restructured school calendar because if they do not they will continue to be scapegoats for the failings of the current system.

Educators must be at the forefront of this restructuring and not the last to be dragged into it. They should be taking the lead on solving the problems associated with the required transformation.  It is they who should be offering mutually acceptable ways to work within the contract to make change happen and throw out the contract when it gets in the way of the required restructuring.

It cannot always be about additional compensation. Now is the time for the many Professionals, who are more concerned about efficiency and instructional effectiveness to lead and be the new Professional Pioneers.

Pennsylvania can no longer afford to receive a non-grade for innovation like the one it recently received from the Publication “Leaders and Laggards,” a state by state report because educational Innovation was not apparent.

2. I do not believe that throwing more money at the present educational structure will produce significantly different results and by doing so we are all complicit in what constitutes the classical definition of insanity, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. Precisely what we are doing?  If more money was the answer our major cities schools should be shining examples of educational excellence. Clearly additional funding can help, but only if it is connected to a total Revamping.

 Unquestionably, this nation's citizens must look at the unparalleled economic competition we face - from India, Brazil, Singapore, China, Japan and European Union. These countries have a longer school year, week and day with which to educate children. Beyond that they do not interrupt their school day with athletics disguised as P.E., band, home economics, industrial arts, chorus and the most onerous of all interruptions, study halls.  We cannot even begin to factor in the cost of the time teachers are absent for professional development {admittedly vital}, personal days and other such absences.

An extended school calendar{which is more in tune with current Learning theory research} could be used for planned and scheduled intercessions which in turn would be used for student remediation, acceleration and staff development, without pulling teachers away from instructional duties.

Every teacher in the county, state and nation is currently experiencing, at this time of year, one of the most costly drains on our resources: The LOSS OF PREVIOUSLY TAUGHT MATERIAL. So this year, like every other year, they will spend the first two to three weeks of the school year SUCCESSFULLY re-teaching that which kids lost over the long 13 week summer break from learning, in particular READING.  The price tag for this systemic problem runs in the billions.

 Our politicians will then lament the fact that our federally funded Title 1 Reading Programs are multi-billion dollar historical failures because kids cannot read at expected levels!! And Blame public school teachers!  Seriously!  Anyone who has been in a school can predict that under the current structure the cycle is going to repeat itself over and over again. No matter how much we castigate professional Educators OR PUT ADDITONAL TAXPAYER RESOURCES INTO THE CURRENT SYSTEM.

 Can we really afford to keep this insanity up while we are desperately seeking additional taxpayer funds to educate our kids? How can an Educator maintain there are things to be worked as if that justified inertia? Can we continue to justify an unwillingness to tackle the admittedly difficult issues such as summer heat, lack of air conditioning and daycare?

Many districts will resist the change altogether. However, the extended year will come either driven by private sector or progressive public schools. Hesitant districts can take some intermediate steps.

 First, they can reorganize the instructional days already available to them to reduce the reality of summer learning loss. After that adjustment is in place, and generally accepted by the public, then districts might consider adding more days.

Clearly; nations with the best educated citizenry are the ones most likely to survive this international competition. The agricultural calendar we have followed for so long will not provide the educational skills we need. It must give way to something better.