Blog Reflection Quarter 4

Over this past year, I think I have evolved as a blogger. Fourth quarter, I have blogged about topics that relate to our class discussions and about my junior theme experience. Blogging has become not an assignment (as it started off as first quarter), but a way for me to think critically and reflect on our society and discussions we have in class, and stay updated on current events. I definitely feel more comfortable blogging now as opposed to first quarter.
My favorite blog post this quarter is "Facebook...for first graders" (5/21). Although I did not have as many blogs fourth quarter as previous quarters, I really liked this blog both because it pertains to the discussions we've had in class on the media and technological changes in our society, and because I actually felt very strongly about the topic. I think the idea of social networking for young children is very relevant and a little scary.
Overall, I have really enjoyed learning how to blog and become comfortable blogging :)

Sunday, September 27, 2009

No Summer Vacation?!

I read an article today that said President Obama wants to extend the school day and school year. He says American students are at a disadvantage compared to students around the globe because of the smaller amount of time they spend in school. I can see both positive and negative sides to this issue. Extending the school day would allow for increased learning and give students in poor areas a safe place to be until their parents are home from work. However, I personally think that it is important for kids to have after school activities to go to, instead of just a longer school day. I know that at New Trier we are lucky and have many after school programs from clubs to sports and theater, and a longer school day would make homework and extracurricular participation harder. Furthermore, I think that extending school into summer vacation would not be a good idea, because everyone deserves a break. What do you think? Is it worth it to extend the amount of time we spend in school?

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3 comments:

  1. 尚凯文September 27, 2009 at 8:23 PM

    I think that it is important to realize that schools have very different schedules. In the Chicago Tribune, there was an article showing that the shorter hours and days of Chicago Public Schools add up to an entire year of lost education. It is only fair that schools have more standardized time of education.

    Personally, I believe that 40 minutes is the right amount of time per class. I could never get used to 50 minute classes every day.
    As for the length of a school year, I think that summer break should remain the number of days, but I would be open to different start and end dates. We should start summer vacation later in June and extend it to September. It isn't as hot in June which makes everyone happier in school, plus it saves on cooling costs. However, there is no reason why schools in other places must have the same summer break.

    Why do we always have to be so competitive anyways?

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2009 at 11:40 AM

    I think that extending the school day is not a good idea. I feel that if each class were to be longer, kids would lose focus more easily, thus defeating the purpose of adding more school. Also, with a longer school day, comes less time for after school activities. I think that kids in America value afterschool programs like sports teams, maybe more so than foreign contries because it is a way of life around here. Also,I think that if the school year is extended kids wont get the break they deserve and need from school.

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  3. SamGotSeptember 28, 2009 at 2:26 PM

    I know of some schools in Europe that the students have much longer days and just a regular winter or spring break-type break for summer, yet, they get no homework. I believe they also have 6 day weeks. Some people would automatically go for the plan of no homework but is it really worth it to sacrifice friend time and extracurricular time for no homework? It's a sticky situation. And what if there still WAS homework. I'd need to know more about what Obama was thinking to decided whether I'd agree. But for now, I'm good with our days. Even if there IS a lot of homework. I'd way rather have more free time, even if it was to do homework.

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