Reply to NPR Article on Public Schools

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Parents are pushing so hard for school to become childcare. You want school to be longer and to eliminate breaks? It’s not developmentally appropriate. The kids can sit and play with a monitor for two hours at the end of the day and then be bussed home in rush hour traffic. Happy? There’s no way that elementary schoolers have two additional hours of learning left in them. They’re already falling apart and overstimulated at the end of the day. [/quote]

It’s hard to afford having a SAHP anymore. A lot of people have to send kids to camps in summer and over the school breaks anyway. [/quote]
That isn't a problem that schools can solve, though. There are all these systemic problems in our society, like lack of paid sick leave, that people keep trying to blame on schools. "I can't keep my son home when he has a cough! I have a job." The school can't solve that problem. We shouldn't be sending people into communal spaces with communicable illnesses even when we aren't in a pandemic. People need to stop expecting overcrowded, underfunded schools to solve all of these social issues. Why doesn't your boss offer you onsite aftercare? Why don't you have flexible time off to spend with your children if they are ill? It's bizarre that people want schools to fix everything, without investing in schools at all.[/quote]

The point is that you're making up a problem. Of course kids could stay in school all day. We know that because so many already do that with before/after care programs. Many were already spending a full day at preschool before elementary school.

There's no question whether you could do this. It's just a matter of what it would look like.[/quote]
Making up a problem? There are sick kids sitting in my classroom every day, and parents arguing that they just can't come pick them up because they have to work. This is one of the many problems that arise when we treat school like childcare. People feel entitled to it, no matter what.
Of course they "could" stay at school all day. Just as they "could" stay home all day. The problem is an economic one, either way. Who would staff this? What would it cost to run the buildings for all those additional hours? How much more would it cost to bus those kids? Teachers aren't available for additional hours, nor do they have the ability to take on additional responsibilities. Who are you hiring and what are the qualifications? What are you paying these people? How do you find people who are available for short shifts five days a week? Are you just going to let the kids have free time, or are you purchasing materials and curriculum for this? Are you feeding the kids an additional meal? [/quote]

I can see the justification for someone low income but its not acceptable for someone with higher income not to hire help if they cannot get their sick kid from schools.  If parents refuse to pick up the kids and school says fine, of course they will do it.  Schools need to stay pick up your kid within 90 minutes or we call CPS.  Simple.[/quote]

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