An Education Worthwhile: Length of the School Year

As a student, I have the ideal perspective into education when it comes to what works and what does not work. I know, at least for like minded individuals, what instills in a student the desire to become an educated citizen. Among these things is the main reason why we all go to school: not the law, but the prospect of success.

That is why students flock to universities across the nation. The ability to be financially stable in our adult lives is the driving factor that takes us to the desks of higher learning. But for many of our fellow students, this is not the case. For thousands of high school students right now, the reality is that within four years, these teenagers will be joining in the ranks of the workers of the country, the military, or vocational schools.

While the future is undoubtedly something we must always keep in perspective, the quality of our colleges is not a source of frustration. The problems we see today are in the building blocks, in the core of our education system; that is, the youth of the nation are getting an education that is not up to the standards of our society. Our nation's education system was ranked in at 18th by UNICEF. South Korea's was number one. It seems quite obvious who has the better system.

The next few posts will be about education, but I think we should begin with looking at fundamentals. The length of our school calendars must change. Simply put, Korean youths go to school longer than American children. Much longer. Schools in the capital actually begin at 7:30 in the morning and ends at 5:00 at night. Its not just school day hours though; the typical school year consists of 220 school days, divided into two semesters with a 45-day summer vacation and 70-day winter vacation. Pre-school begins at ages 3-5, and first grade at age 8 or so. Comparatively speaking, American schools seem like pansies. Our students go to class for forty less days, have about 90 days of summer vacation, and go to school for about two hours less a day.

Am I proposing we undertake a full implementation of the exhaustive conditions of Korea? Not at all. I don't believe students should be expected to spend nine and a half hours a day in a school building. What I do propose, though, is a shift within our system to somewhat model the Korean system. Students should be attending more school days. If we are to go from 18th to the top 10, we must tackle this issue as one of our number one priorities in the reformation of our schools. Summer vacations should be shorter, there should be longer winter breaks, and American students should have two semesters. Americans should know how to read and write earlier and their multiplication and division should be taught earlier. Without a doubt, kindergartners ought to know the alphabet before entering the class room.

My problem with the Korean way of doing things, though, is within their school day hours. It has been proved true, at least for American teenagers, that starting school later in the day (8:30 or 9:00) would increase the performance of students. Teenagers need more sleep, and they operate better later in the morning than 7:00 or 7:30, the start time for many school. At the same time, school should not be going until 5:00 at night. When I played soccer and participated in track and field, the practices began at 4:00 so as to finish up before it became too dark to play and to make sure there was minimal impact on a student's academic performance. As sports will not (and should not) be leaving our schools anytime in the near future, we must make sure that there is ample time for that in the school schedules. Students do need fun and recreation; I have no facts to back up this claim because if this isn't a universally understood notion, than it should be.

That is the first reform, sisters and brothers. Longer school years.