American students do NOT spend less time in school. They spend fewer days in school, but overall, we spend more time.
And frankly, I don't want a man who has zero time to spend with his kids (let's face it, he spends all his family time on trips with his wife) telling me that the gov't needs to see more of MY children.

No Mr. President, American families need to spend MORE time with thier kids, not LESS! Last I checked, we were the most prosperous nation on earth (thanks to that Egrarian economy you criticized).

I think school should be extended. We are a country that is behind academically. Let's not over-do-it, though. Kids still need time to play and participate in after school activities.

WOW..Are you serious?

So yeah, lets cut the school day to 4 hours per day.

Also, I don't see anyone criticizing the agragrian economy..

Just pointing out the obvious (that children no longer work in the fields of family farms during the summer)

Yep. This is yet another reason why we homeschool.

Wow! I believe if you want the American children to have more education there is a simple solution that does not require more time in school. For the past 5 years my son has done little more than field trips, parties, game days, and guest speakers the whole last month of school. There is about 20 days worth right there if the curriculum would not fizzle out after the TAAS and TAKS tests are completed. Put your nose in the schools and take a closer look at the activities that take place throughout the entire school year before you take away anyone's time with their children.

If your son "has done little more than field trips, parties, game days, and guest speakers the whole last month of school", blame that on the county, and maybe if you believe that strongly about it, you should take it up with them. It's not pervasive.

As a teacher, we cram every possible moment with something because we have probably 300% more work than we have time. Honestly, if the school days were longer, or the school year was longer, it would be fine so long as they let us go deeper into what we already have. However, they will likely just add more standards and more content that is WAY above their development level, and all we will be able to do is rush though it. As it stands right now, about 20% of what is required is probably a year or two ahead of their level, and they don't give us enough time to teach the stuff that is on their level thoroughly anyway.

The expectations for teachers keeps being raised, but the level of income is not, and many benefits are also being cut We are losing great teachers because they can't afford to be teachers. If they want to extend the day and the year, then they should also make sure they raise our income to at least match.

Yes, lets extend the school day and the school year now that we have cut the arts due to the budgets and eliminated recess. Then we can sit back and see how many kids act up in class because they have no time to be kids. Kids today are going to school for longer days than ever before, teachers are forced to cram more information in each day than ever before, and kids are getting more homework. Are kids any smarter than they were 30 years ago? Are they any better behaved?

Well, I am a mother of 2 boys one of which i homeschool, one of which attends a public school. I just saw this on the news that Obama supports this, let me tell you something, I have sat through the curriculum used for my sons public school and it isnt anything compared to what i teach my other son at home. My homeschooled son will learn more with me in a 4 hour homeschool day, then he will EVER learn in his public school in a 10 hour 7 day a week school period. I just told my husband that if Obama made it to where the days and hours of school was longer, my other son was going to be pulled outta the public school. I feel that my son is gone long enough, 8 1/2 hours each day, 5 days a week is pleanty. Its not about going to school and "playing" all day, its about learning, this explains why people say we are a "behind" country.. It is only going to cause more families to homeschool thier children...

Ok so you want us to go to school longer and have longer school days because you think that were not smart enough. Well coming from a student of course i dont agree. I get up at 5 and im on my bus at 6:15 and i arrive at school by 7:30, i have track practice after school so i dont get home untill around 5:30 or 6. I am an AP student therefore i have tons of homework, sometimes i dont even eat because i have homework. Im finish with home work and studying at around 11 everynight. And you want to add more hours to our school day, come on now try again. Now Obama you tell me where exactly im going to find time to sleep if you add hours to my school day. And your talking about going to school on weekends. I look forward to my weekends not to have fun but to finish up homework and to relax. Sorry but this can only lead to a higher drop out rate and more kids skipping school, in my eyes.

Douchebama

Having heard Obama's comments as well as read the replies on this thread I wanted to add my two cents. Part of being a kid is having time off in the summer to play when they are younger and have time to get a steady job as they get older. I am a teacher and despite what some feel, I think that we do amazing work with children.

Success in any education system (public, homeschool, overseas) requires the buy-in of three groups of people: the teachers, the parents, and most importantly, the students. Whether the year is 180 days or 200 days long, if students aren't going to prepare themselves and parents aren't going to support their children and school, it doesn't matter how great a lesson is or how meaningful the material is.

I am not saying that all teachers are at the top of the game. That is unrealistic in any profession. However, the job becomes that much more difficult when students put in no effort. If we are going to compare our system to other countries, let's also take a look at a few other things that are happening in the world.

In Germany, if students fail, they are held back. Period. If they fail a second time, they are switched into a school that will prepare them for menial labor. Not every child is college bound, even after successful completion of high school.

In Japan, it is expected that students come prepared with mastery of age level arithmetic skills. Educators drool over the amount of discovery learning that takes place in Japanese schools, forgetting to report that much of the skill building takes place at home. Parents that do not have the skills themselves to teach their students the appropriate skills hire a tutor.

American schools give every student the opportunity to make the most of their education. The down side is that many choose to not push themselves. How will more days in school fix that?

This is absurd! Do you honestly think this is going to help people in America by lengthening the year by another month and adding hours. No what this is going to cause is a much higher dropout percentage and an increased cos! Great thinking Obama, let's add more to our budget! So far all Obama has done is put the welfare of this country on the line!

nononoononononononono nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!yes no yes JOHN YES

First of all, Obama and his administration are doing the right thing by extending the school year and school days. I am in tenth grade and have one study hall every other day and end up coming home with a lot of homework and don't have time to have fun or socialize. If the day was extended about an hour both ways, instead of school starting at 7:45am, it starting at 6:45am and instead of it anding at 2:22pm, it ending at 3:22pm, there would be more time for kids to get the work that is necessary compleeted and that includes homework. About the weekends idea, I don't think Obama was meaning students would have to go to school on the weekends, I think he was saying that it could be an option to keep kids safe, meaning that there could be activities for kids to participate in during those hours, if necessary or if the kids wanted to. Oh and to the person that was talking about families spending less time with there kids if this happens, it won't matter anyway, in my family and with other kids I know, there parents are to busy working to do stuff with them so a longer school year would be awesome. Oh and one more thing, your info is actually incorrect, we do go to school less than most kids in other countries do and, for me and lots of other people I know in school, the summer is so boring that after the third week we wnat to be back again. Kids will still have time off I imagine if that comes into effect, it will just be split up, like a month for Christmas, a week or two in July...I don't know how they will do it but they aren't going to alliminate vacations.

This is not fair to students, teachers, and parents. If they extend the school days what about the students who does extra circular activites after school that is or is not apart of the school? They would not be able to do those things because school would get out way too late. What about students and teachers who are involve with their church or even go to mid week service which at a lot of churches it's also youth service night? They would not be able to go anymore or possibly be very late. When will the students have time to even study, do homework, go to tutoring which some of them do, or even when will teachers have time to grade papers. Teachers also have lives outside of the classroom. They have their own families that they need to tend to also. How can they if they work very late knowing they can't leave until an hour or two after the students leave By the time the children are school age the school will practally raise them because home would acually be for eating and sleeping. These are the things that apparently they did not think about when coming up with this crazy idea.

I work in a daycare after my classes. When I get to work we drive out to Elementary schools and pick up all of our kids. I love my kids to death, but they are so restless and tired after a 6 hour school day, that it is impossible to get them to sit still or stop talking for more than 2 seconds. Recess is being cut, Art, Music...they have lost their importance...Obama, children do not need to compete for better grades, because once they start "losing" they give up. Then they drop-out or start skipping school. They lose hope because once they are behind, they can't catch up...there is just too much work and since teachers are so busy trying to find a way to fit it in, they don't have time to help the kids that fall behind.

Parents..shame on you for liking this idea just because you will have someone to babysit your kids. Your kids love you and would love nothing more than to spend time with you. If you shove them off in school, how do you think they feel? It kills me to talk to the kids at the daycare and hear about how they spend their entire day..6 in the morning and then taken to school by us..to 6:30 at night every single day of the week. You wonder why they act up...

For those of you who are all about books and lectures, I am learning right now that kids have to PLAY to LEARN. Without playing they lose interest. They need to be active and moving, socializing in class and doing things hands on. They are not falling behind on academia, they are getting bored with it. I know I remember one thing from high school. We were learning about trench warfare in WWII. My teacher built a trench in the classroom and we reenacted a battle with paper balls. The things kids remember when they have FUN with it will amaze you.

Teachers need a break too. You cram so much information into their days, and they are struggling to find the time to do it. At the same time they are worried about losing their jobs because the TAKS test is running their lives. What happened to the days when children got to learn about the Pilgrims by having a Thanksgiving dinner in the classroom? Personally, I think TAKS needs to be eliminated. Get the stress out of the classroom and let kids learn without any pressure.

Taking away their freedom and forcing them to learn is not going to have the same outcome that you think it will. It is not a teachers job to babysit your children, it is their job to help them learn things that they will use the rest of their lives. Year round school will kill their creativity because they will never have time to play. High school students will be even more busy when they are juggling more school, after school activities, a job and homework. You can't give them a longer day, don't take away the time they already don't have.

I think it's really petty to point out a spelling error to surmise a person's ability to respond to a serious issue. It is only an attempt to divert the topic. People make spelling errors all the time. That is what editors are for. I do not think a longer school day would stop spelling errors from happening.

Onto the real topic; I think that Mr. Obama is absolutely wrong about longer school days and school years. Time with our children is so essential to his/her well being. Taking more of the minuscule time away, afforded for the family, could only cause a greater rift in the American family, and further diminish the child's sense of identity and individuality. Personally I think if we want to change anything we need to devote more time and money to enhance the education of our children instead of the "schooling" of them. Change the structure (and in some cases the content) of how our children receive (and apply) education and then we will start seeing more results. Allow the teachers to actually educate instead of "schooling" them. Stop restricting our educators in a bureaucratic system of rhyme and meter, and start allowing creative and critical thinking. Give children the tools to question, reason, respond and debate. Allow more out of the classroom activity and more real life learning instead of the constant barrage of theory.

Extending our children's school day would only contribute to the problem we are having with education. Kids need time to unwind, be alone, enjoy sports, the arts, community service, family, ect. Your suggestion, Mr. President, only cuts into that very little time available for those things which enhance our lives.

If the government really wants to help, they'll get out of the way. If government really wants to help, they'll discontinue the hypocrisy of standardized testing to evaluate and measure intelligence and achievement. If the government really wants to help, more money would be devoted to social programs, after school programming, Libraries, 4-H clubs, ect. Let’s design an education for everyone that is going to meet the needs of the challenges we face now and in the future. Let's be forward thinkers, inventors, not train our children to be consumers in a failing system. The problem is not the children; it's the adults who are running the system.

As a teacher, I know that what happens at home is as important as what we do in the classroom. Students cannot learn for 10 hours per day any more than the 7 we are already there if they are worried about mom and dad fighting, not having food for supper or in some cases whether there will be anyone around to take care of them. If parents want more from public education then they need to support public education instead of constantly bombarding us with negative comments or lack of support when we make decisions about whether the child should move on to the next grade.
As another poster noted, not all students are college-bound. Schools are not failing, politicians are failing to recognize that not all children learn at exactly the same rate. Special education students receive different instruction for a reason, yet state laws mandate that all students take the same test.
No-I don't want to teach from sunup to sundown and parents shouldn't want this for their children! If fair compensation is not offered to us as professionals most good teachers will leave the profession. I love teaching but my time is worth more than minimum wage. Mr. Obama seems to have a problem with basic math skills-you cannot spend more than you take in and continue to "stay in business".

I don't like the idea at all! I can see the benefits for some families but not for mine. I'm a stay at home mom and I'm very involved with my kids. We enjoy our time together. My son is in 9th grade and my daughter is in 7th. My daughter takes piano lessons and is on the gymnastics team. How would she have time for all this?

I feel like others are raising our kids enough as it is!

ok i think thats not a good decition because we dont LIKE SCHOOL.. and yu trying to take summer away just to go to school WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU... am a puerto rican gurl and like we dont like school non of this ppl from bronson does. bronson school is not a fun school if yall make it more fun and do more fun stuff thern were probably like it more but we datz not fair presiden ombama....
well god bless you take care.. bye

heres what i think. i think that high school students especially dislike school more then others. if you increase the amount of time we have to spend there, we are more likely to be high school drop outs. also, about the safe place thing, people would rather be out on the streets then go to a school.

ugh.. just quit the arguing!! there is no need to bash everyone for their beliefs!! yes, obama takes vacations and yes he has a family! however his kids are opposed to the school days being longer! i dont like him much either but he is the pres and we have to respect him for that!

obama i thinck your plan sucks

NOT HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
NOT HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT SUCKS