Saturday

[Unkotare]

I hope everyone here realizes the real solution to the fact that American students don't "stack up" with students in other countries.
It's because Americans don't value education the way some other cultures do. .....

Americans value education.

 

[mgh80]

Quantity =/=quality. Many kids get burned out as it is (my school's day for students is 7 1/2 hours long).

 

[Unkotare]

Think about how much time many kids will waste on nothing important on a given Saturday and then consider the value of more education.

 

[DGS49]

A large segment of the economy relies on the availability of school children on Saturdays. McDonald's, amusement parks, theaters, malls, etc.

When my son was in 8th grade I heard about a local parochial school that was considering an extended school day, WITH NO HOMEWORK. Study exercises (and other "homework type" stuff) would be done during the extended hours, with mentors overseeing the process. They dropped the idea because - basically - it would interfere with sports.

My question is, could American kids be attentive for 6 days a week? In my school district, kids spend an average of 2 hours each night on homework and studying.