Leave Those Kids Alone!

Do you recognize the name Arne Duncan? You should. He is President Obama’s Education Secretary. How would you like to do school, everyday, the entire day, through the entire year? I know I wouldn’t. I love summer! Well, Mr. Arne said, “In all seriousness, I think schools should be open 12, 13, 14 hours a day, seven days a week, 11-12 months of the year.” Yes, you read that right. That means no weekends and probably no summer. Who in their right mind would want that?

Now, does the idea of eliminating weekends and summer sound pretty crazy? Yes, it does. But here’s the argument: America’s academic achievement ranks significantly low in comparison to that of other countries. Our public school system could undoubtedly use some fixing. I don’t think I’m alone when I say–there must be another solution. Weekends are the break that keeps me alive during the school year.

Maybe we should give students a greater incentive for learning, like making the curriculum relevant and delivered by a teacher who knows the material. How about giving teachers a greater incentive for teaching well, like merit pay? How about making schools compete by establishing a school choice system. Here’s an idea: make a curriculum a little more challenging and up the standards for the average student. Just, please, let us keep our summer.

-Lyda Loudon