🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Oct7.184258.9803@chpc.utexas.edu> jbyrd@chpc.utexas.edu (Jan Byrd) writes:
>Does year-round schooling actually result in more time (more days) in the 
>classroom than a September through May schedule?  If so, then they should
>surely be able to get it all finished during class times.  I have several
>friends who home-school their children, and there is no such thing as
>"homework".  All school work is done "in class", and the rest of the time 
>they are free for fields trips and other non-academic pursuits.
>
>Jan

From my understanding of the various proposed models for year-around
schooling, it can go both ways; i.e., either more or less days of school
(or in most cases, actually the same number of days.)

I have to be somewhat sceptical of the use of enforced homework in the
first place, mostly because I suspect it grew out of a desire to "keep
the children out of trouble", at least in some part. In some cases, it
is certainly necessary, but I seriously doubt the value of either excessive
or forced homework. From my reading and understanding of the process of
learning, both in children and adults, it seems fairly clear that people
learn and memorize by repeated exposure over an extended period of time,
_not_ from forcing huge blocks of study down people's throats in as short
a time as humanly possible.

For this reason, I believe that the idea of year-around schooling, coupledd
with an alteration of methodology towards a more long-term approach to
learning than cramming and a change in philosophy towards nurturing and
encouraging children's curiosity in what directions _they_ are interested
in, with, of course, guidance where necessary, will in itself affect more
positive change in the educational system than anything else.


	Geoff Tuffli