The Four Hour School Day

     I read an article that my math teacher brother posted on Facebook, about Finland having four hour school days. And how this has improved their educational results among their European neighbors. This started a text discussion and piqued my interest. I have include a link to the article if you wish to read it.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/january/finnish-schools-reform-012012.html

     In my view the problem with education has been: We have turned it into free daycare for a large percentage of the population. It is more about keeping the children fed in a safe environment. Then about ingraining the fundamental concepts that everyone needs to start down the road of a productive and hopefully prosperous new life.

      I understand the need for a well-rounded education with exposure to the arts, sports, and other personal development classes.  But each child is unique, with varying levels of interest in these extra-curricular activities. The problem is that we are creating a one size fit all education system. A one that is built on exposure to x number of hours of required hours in each field. Children are not any different than adults. If something interests us we pay attention, if not we tune out. And our interest are always changing as we age. So why spend time and resources teaching a subject that may be forgotten the minute the student walks out.

     This is how I envisioning the dynamics of the system.

     The public system would have 2- 4 hour class blocks, depending on the size and logistics of the school district. These class block would consist of three fifty minute classes, and an hour lunch and recess. You would hire specialized teacher to fill these position. This would entail a larger pay raise to meet the level of teacher you are trying to acquire. This allows the district to maximize the number of students each teacher can teach to everyday. So although you are paying more to individual teachers you are eliminating extra staff needed to teach non-core classes, and in the long run reduce the size of the facilities you need to teach in.  The students in the elementary level would stay in their classroom for all three classes, with the teachers being brought in for their class time. Each teacher would have six hours of teaching time, and two hours for grading and other planning activities. This may entail the extra position of classroom coordinator to watch and help with the students during the class. But these roles could be filled by interns, or other qualified individuals. Since, an advanced degree would not be required for coordinator positions, the pay would be lower.

     You would drop all of the additional classes, such as art, music, P.E., and any other non-core class.  These classes can be offered in the before and after structure. The goal is focus on the core classes without watering down class time with extraneous activities.

     Next this encourages more parental involvement as they search for before or after school programs that can be tailored to the individual student’s aptitudes and interest.  These before and after program can either be public or private, depending on the wishes of the local population. A voucher system may be ideal, to bring in both private and public sector funding.

      And these before and after school programs would be more flexible on hours, therefore, could offer 2, 4, or 6 hour sessions. With the ability to help students with core classes they may be falling behind in, or more advanced classes students may wish to participate in. This also allows for programs to be vocationally or academically focused.

     We have fallen into thinking that all students deserve a college education, without considering if it is in the best interest of the student. Now we have rising tuition cost with the overall quality of degrees trending down to maintain the student body. And many students that leave indebted to the government with the equivalent of a mortgage payment, with or without a degree. And by the way, this guaranteed debt cannot be easily forgiven in bankruptcy. So they have it till they die, or have paid it off.  A kind of permanent indentured servitude. For a degree to have any competitive relevance, you have to pursue an even higher degree.

      So is our education system serving the needs of the student body, or the coffers of academia?

And don’t give me this every child deserves a college degree. To what end? The make a bachelor’s degree as relevant as a high school diploma? A required, you must have or a bare minimum?

     Education is a lifelong pursuit, whether we recognize this formally or grudgingly accept it. However, which has more relevance, something learned in a classroom, something we took personal time to pursue, or something learned through daily occupation? In the real world we generally use all three ways of learning. Why not create a system to maximize learning in all three levels?