Many New Jersey Parents Say No To Longer School Day

Governor Chris Christie, in between shutting down the traffic to the George Washington Bridge and extorting real estate development projects in Hoboken, decided he would add extra time and days to schools.

The Star-Ledger reports many parents around the state aren't so into that idea:

As they waited outside the Orange Avenue School one day last week for the dismissal bell to ring, a few dozen Cranford parents debated the merits of Gov. Chris Christie’s call for New Jersey students to spend more time in school.

"They’re in class enough," Scott Laniewski said.

"And the little ones need time to play," added Michelle Howlett, a former special education teacher. "They need downtime."

Standing near a swing set a few yards away, Barry O’Donovan disagreed. "I think they should have a longer year. They don’t go to school enough," he said. "And they’ll learn more."

The discussions are happening at schools and playgrounds around the state, as parents, educators and students discuss the benefits and drawbacks of more school time. Some parents welcome the idea, while others complain that summer vacation is too short already. Jersey’s July temperatures are too hot for school, said some. Others said the kids need time to relax.

"By the end of the day she’s tired," Marisol Quintero of Elizabeth said about her daughter in kindergarten.

...

Charles Sampson, superintendent of the Freehold Regional High School District, said Christie’s proposal will result in local districts taking a close look at how they use their time. But he said the first step is to understand the goal.

"What are we looking to improve? If it is to improve academic achievement on standardized tests, that is a more specific conversation than providing extended opportunities for children," he said. "You’re going to have very different reactions across the state, at the local level, and across households."

The goal is control and compliance- to socialize children to expect to be at work for 10+ hours a day, 50 weeks a year when they grow up, working whatever drudge jobs are still left in 15+ years and not complain or rebel against the system.

This jive about making children "competitive" in an increasingly globalized economy is horse bleep.

The economy is increasingly competitive because multi-national corporations use every piece of leverage they have to exploit workers, tax breaks, etc. to make as much money as they can.

The problem is not that children are not growing up knowing enough to do the work companies need them to do.

The problem is the companies don't actually want to pay people (except for the braintrust at the company, of course) and they'll do anything to outsource, automate, exploit or otherwise cut their labor costs.

That is not something that is going to be solved by adding time and days to school - unless by "solve" you mean socializing children to grow up expecting to be exploited and screwed in their work lives.