Time for a longer school year?

President Obama says kids need more learning time to keep up with their counterparts in other countries. Is extending the school calendar a good idea?

Obama says stay in school, longer.
(Image credit: Getty)

In a bid to start a national conversation about education reform, President Obama said Monday that U.S. children need to spend more time in school each year to catch up with their counterparts in other developed countries. "We now have our kids go to school about a month less than other advanced countries," Obama said during an NBC Today show forum. "And that month makes a difference." Will adding days to the school calendar help children learn more?

Obama is on the right track: "Obama's assessment of this outdated system is spot-on," says Olivia Meeks at The American. The traditional U.S. school calendar is a throwback to a bygone era when "cutting-edge" educators "warned against overtaxed minds and overheated classrooms in the summer months." Now we know that lengthy vacations only widen the achievement gap between privileged and disadvantaged kids, and that all our children need more learning time "to boost student performance and restore national competitiveness."

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