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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]They don't know. It's being labeled "Instructional time" but I asked that question at the December forum and was plainly told "We don't know exactly how it will be used." Fabulous. What great planning! <NOT>
[/quote]

It's bad planning to ask for public comment on the idea of an elementary school day that has 30 minutes more of instructional time, but not yet know exactly what kind of instruction would take place during those 30 minutes? [/quote]

Yes. Changes should in my opinion be made to fulfill a specific need, not merely for the sake of change. Note that in general I agree with the idea of lengthening the school day, but creating extra time but not knowing how that extra time will be used seems to invite the question of exactly why this extra time is necessary and beneficial to the student. If the school believes they need an extra 30 minutes, why do they believe this? What specific instruction do they want to provide that they do not currently have time for? Surely those who proposed the extra time had some sort of use in mind for it, and I believe that should be shared.

For example:
We wish to provide additional instruction in math because ____(some sort of data based on student scores indicating that more math instruction is needed for a majority of kids)___. In order to do this, we need to extend the school day by 30 minutes. OK, done  most likely has my support.

We would like to offer foreign language instruction every day rather than only a few times a week in place of something else. This proposal would give us 30 dedicated minutes for foreign language instruction without said instruction reducing the time spent on other subjects. OK, done  most likely has my support.

We would like students to have time to do more in depth study of science or social studies. The extra 30 minutes would be devoted to hands on experiments or history explorations. OK, done  most likely has my support.

Or even: We don't think the kids currently get long enough for lunch and recess and an extra half hour would help us have time to give kids a longer time to eat. I would consider supporting a change for this reason.

Just tell me [u]why[/u] you are asking for the change, and you are far more likely to have my support. If you cannot articulate your reasons for needing a change, I am likely to think it is not a very well developed idea, or not needed, and am unlikely to support it.[/quote]

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