We have been preparing for this moment for weeks and finally it's here! My fellow Track E'ers will be heading to our very first day of class...with kids!!! (Professional Development week did not count, although I believe that it was AUSL's way of trying to weed out the weak ones...it was a CRAZY week)!!! I am so excited and so nervous to meet my new 4TH grade friends! BUT...the reality just kicked in! School starts at 7:45am! Ugh!!! I have heard talks about the proposed longer school day and I was aware of its approval. However, I never took the time to understand its purpose. Now that it is officially affecting my precious sleep, it is a good time to look into why CPS deemed it necessary to increase school minutes. According to the Chicago Tribune, the bell-to-bell school will increase from 345 minutes to 450 minutes. And instructional minutes will increase from 308 minutes to 390 minutes. The longer school day will also allow for students to have a 45 minute lunch/recess period. According to CPS, Chicago's children spent 15% less time in the classroom compared to the rest of the country. The additional time will allow more time to focus on core academic subjects such as math, social science, and science in addition to literacy. In recent years, these subjects have suffered due to the lack of instructional time available. The opportunity for students to eat lunch and head to recess for 45 minutes was a huge deal for me because the time allotted prior to the extended day was unrealistic. Students literally had 20 minutes to eat their food with little to no recess on most days. Recess gives the students an opportunity to release energy and take a break for themselves before heading back into classes. Overall, I understand the need to increase school time and my sleep is not all that important. Besides, we were told on the first day: "It's not about you, it's about the kids" Have a great first week of school Track E folks :-)
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2012/08/school-hours-and-staffing-q-a-.html
http://www.cps.edu/News/Announcements/Pages/09_06_2011_A1.aspx
Great Post! I think A longer lunch and recess is really important too! Kids need time to be outside and get heir energy out or else the afternoons can be tricky for both teachers and students. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteThe obstacle I believe our students face is becoming adjusted to the long school day. It was hard the first week because many students were falling asleep or struggling to stay awake. However the longer school days does open more prep time for teachers, longer lunch breaks, and longer recess and lunch times for the students. It allows the teacher and the students to take a break from the core subjects and refocus!
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