Idea for a new school schedule

[redtiger 1,742]

Not so much class time but what about what is being taught. I think classes should be taught on how to do your taxes, balance a checkbook and learn about stuff like mortgages. That will be much more important for a kid than what happened during the Boxer Rebellion. Just my opinion.

 

I sorta agree, but you have to know youre history, but I am biased. Dont get me wrong, those lessons are lost to many Americans right now. I personally think there should be more focus on American History and less on World History but thats just me.

 

Someone, somewhere has decided that those type of lessons should be taught in school, by social science teachers! Ive had to take Economics classes, dont know exactly why that burden falls on SS teachers? I understand that teaching those lessons as a single class would be a horrendous failure, imo it should be incorporated into every class in some way.

 

 

 

 

Theres alot of fun stuff in History, it just depends on how you present it. Nothing is more badass than the American Revolution! and I dont mean the fighting.

 

 

I wouldnt say the SOLs are pointless, there has to be some way to hold the teachers accountable but the kids shouldnt have to pass them to graduate.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

SOLs are pointless.

 

This.

 

Ever noticed that since the education industry embraced standardized testing in the late-80s and early-90s, the U.S. has progressively FALLEN down the world's ranks? I wouldn't expect less from a test that values being nothing more than a memory dump over using reason and thought to solve problems.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

The county I teach/coach at in Georgia has gone to a 160 calendar instead of the 180 day. Because of the financial crunch, the county saved around $200,000 dollars in utility cost by not starting school until after Labor Day (the power company charges the school system for the entire school year based on usage for the month of August). Our school day starts at 7:30 am and goes to 3:10. 7 period day. We used to be on block schedule but to cut cost, we switched over to 7 period day. We start school the first week of September. Get 3 days off for Thanksgiving. Normal Christmas break. Federal Holidays. One week off in Feburary for Mid-winter break. One week off in April for Spring Break. Get out the last week of May. What happened to our test scores? They went UP!!! Some counties are experimenting with the 4 day week. They keep the normal 180 day calendar, but take Mondays off. They do add an hour to the school day.

 

There's some flies in the ointment with this proposal if you were to apply it to Virginia.

 

The Code of Virginia requires school boards to set either (1) a 180-day teaching calendar or (2) a 990-hour teaching minimum. Section 22.1-98(B). As far as I know, that's not the case in Georgia. So, if you cut back to 160 days, in VA, you damn well better get the 990 hours in, or you get your funding slashed. And I know in Tazewell County, that'd be about the worst thing that could happen.

 

Think about it. What's the most noticeable difference between GA weather and VA weather? Up here, we get snow. Excluding far northern GA, you can set a calendar and be pretty darned sure that you're going to complete it when you say you will. Not here. Here, in Tazewell County at least, the calendar has always "ended" around May 21st or so. In the last 20 years, to the best of my recollection, school has ended in the month of May three whole times (1991-1992, 1995-1996, 2011-2012). In 2002-2003, Tazewell County missed TWENTY-SIX DAYS due to the snow. If you have a bad winter, you could feasibly not be able to make up the 990 hours.

 

Disregarding everything in the last paragraph, pushing back the daily start time for the sake of shortening the calendar is an awful option in this area. We have a lot of little out-of-the-way hollows in this area. We have school consolidation bumping up travel time. If you started at 7:30 AM, you'd have kids getting on the bus at 6:00 AM. As you can imagine, that'd go over like a striptease in church. Pushing up the day gives you the same problem: you'd have kids getting home at 5:00 PM. That's a long day for a 12-year-old.

 

Hence, the ironclad determination to abide by the 180-day calendar in SWVA. And it's a good decision.

[ThomasDenton 79]

I sorta agree, but you have to know youre history, but I am biased. Dont get me wrong, those lessons are lost to many Americans right now. I personally think there should be more focus on American History and less on World History but thats just me.

 

Someone, somewhere has decided that those type of lessons should be taught in school, by social science teachers! Ive had to take Economics classes, dont know exactly why that burden falls on SS teachers? I understand that teaching those lessons as a single class would be a horrendous failure, imo it should be incorporated into every class in some way.

 

 

 

 

Theres alot of fun stuff in History, it just depends on how you present it. Nothing is more badass than the American Revolution! and I dont mean the fighting.

 

 

I wouldnt say the SOLs are pointless, there has to be some way to hold the teachers accountable but the kids shouldnt have to pass them to graduate.

 

I do think we need to place a little more emphasis on US history, but a lack of knowledge about other countries is one of the reasons people from other countries are aggravated with us. I think that we need to focus more on our own history, but also push classes that teach current history/issues in the world. They had one at Battle my senior year (unfortunately I didn't get to take it because it filled up fast with people wanting to replace their study hall with another study hall-like class) that had students reading news from around the world to understand current issues in other countries and get a better understanding of what's going on in the world.

 

Not so much class time but what about what is being taught. I think classes should be taught on how to do your taxes, balance a checkbook and learn about stuff like mortgages. That will be much more important for a kid than what happened during the Boxer Rebellion. Just my opinion.

 

All that money stuff (along with a lot of other basic and essential knowledge that everyone should know) is usually taught in teen living/home economics. Unfortunately, in Washington County (at Battle at least) they cut home ec. my freshman year (03) due to budget cuts. I guess they didn't think it was that important. And at my old middle school (Wallace Middle School) they cut out teen living after the old teacher left (I think due to medical reasons). But they did replace it with some kind of agri-science class.

[KCFan 10]

Oh, I'm not saying History isn't important but with the SOLS, it basically just becomes a trivia question test. I mean can you really understand or appreciate the Korean War if a teacher spends two days on it?

 

I just think there should be a life skills class that is required that deals with taxes, checkbook, finances, etc. and I think every kid should have to take a shop/mechanic class. I never did and wish I had when my lawnmower is acting up and I have no clue what is going on.

[ThomasDenton 79]

Oh, I'm not saying History isn't important but with the SOLS, it basically just becomes a trivia question test. I mean can you really understand or appreciate the Korean War if a teacher spends two days on it?

 

I just think there should be a life skills class that is required that deals with taxes, checkbook, finances, etc. and I think every kid should have to take a shop/mechanic class. I never did and wish I had when my lawnmower is acting up and I have no clue what is going on.

 

I didn't mean to sound like I thought you were saying history isn't important. I get what you were saying and I agree 100% with you. History class (among some others) has simply become a trivia game of memorization due to the SOLs. And our kids really do need classes like teen living/home economics along with shop/mechanics. These are basic skills that you can fall back on to take care of your home that really should also be taught at the home, but in today's society aren't due to multiple reasons.

[GACoach 10]

There's some flies in the ointment with this proposal if you were to apply it to Virginia.

 

The Code of Virginia requires school boards to set either (1) a 180-day teaching calendar or (2) a 990-hour teaching minimum. Section 22.1-98(B). As far as I know, that's not the case in Georgia. So, if you cut back to 160 days, in VA, you damn well better get the 990 hours in, or you get your funding slashed. And I know in Tazewell County, that'd be about the worst thing that could happen.

 

Think about it. What's the most noticeable difference between GA weather and VA weather? Up here, we get snow. Excluding far northern GA, you can set a calendar and be pretty darned sure that you're going to complete it when you say you will. Not here. Here, in Tazewell County at least, the calendar has always "ended" around May 21st or so. In the last 20 years, to the best of my recollection, school has ended in the month of May three whole times (1991-1992, 1995-1996, 2011-2012). In 2002-2003, Tazewell County missed TWENTY-SIX DAYS due to the snow. If you have a bad winter, you could feasibly not be able to make up the 990 hours.

 

Disregarding everything in the last paragraph, pushing back the daily start time for the sake of shortening the calendar is an awful option in this area. We have a lot of little out-of-the-way hollows in this area. We have school consolidation bumping up travel time. If you started at 7:30 AM, you'd have kids getting on the bus at 6:00 AM. As you can imagine, that'd go over like a striptease in church. Pushing up the day gives you the same problem: you'd have kids getting home at 5:00 PM. That's a long day for a 12-year-old.

 

Hence, the ironclad determination to abide by the 180-day calendar in SWVA. And it's a good decision.

 

I agree UVA. This probably wouldn't work in SWVA. I live in Northwest Georgia. We did not miss any days last year for snow. The year before we missed 2 days. The 2 days we missed, Tazewell County would have been on regular schedule. I think we have missed less than 6 days in the 9 years I have been down here. I do miss the snow days and 2hr late schedule. And the trout fishing! I would like to try the all year schedule that some in the country do. Go 9 weeks and off 3 weeks .

[Hacker 82]

SOLs are pointless.

 

Have you ever noticed that the folks who are the strongest advocates of the SOLs are also advocating home schooling and public vouchers to private school, both of which do not have an SOL requirement.

[Hacker 82]

Kids in VA get VA History in Elementary, US History for two years in Elem/MS, Civics in MS, World Geography, World History, US History and Government in HS.

 

All courses have predetermined Essential Knowledge that the teacher is required to teach. (Teaching to the test.) The problem is that connecting pieces are not always included. Try to teach about the Portuguese trading in W. Africa and the rise of slavery in the Americas without the connecting piece of the triangle trade. (This is done in Middle School.

 

What the students miss is the context and connectedness of history and cultures. History is a great tool for predicting what will happen in the future, if you know the connections.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

I agree UVA. This probably wouldn't work in SWVA. I live in Northwest Georgia. We did not miss any days last year for snow. The year before we missed 2 days. The 2 days we missed, Tazewell County would have been on regular schedule. I think we have missed less than 6 days in the 9 years I have been down here. I do miss the snow days and 2hr late schedule. And the trout fishing! I would like to try the all year schedule that some in the country do. Go 9 weeks and off 3 weeks .

 

I don't know if Tazewell County would've been on regular schedule or not! It really is softer from when I was a kid in the '90s. What Tazewell County misses for now, we MAY have had 1-hour delay for way back in the day. People getting soft up here. ;)

 

I think the all-year schedule would be interesting, but I do worry about the memory retention for the kids if you have a 7-period day instead of block scheduling. I don't like block scheduling much (except for gym/art/band), but if you did block scheduling with the "on 9/off 3" situation, it could enable the kids to get 4 whole subjects under their belts in 18 weeks.