Quality Versus Quantity of Time

My View

An education movement that appears to be gaining momentum these days is the extension of the school day. Proponents reason that students need extra time and opportunities to increase learning. Others claim that adding more classroom hours will provide more time for remediation. Some educators openly suggest extra time is needed mainly to prepare students for state achievement tests.

This myopic logic begs the question: Is more better? Is more time in school beneficial to students?

An analogy comes to my mind in answering. Before I was a superintendent, I worked as a teacher and basketball coach. As a coach, I never subscribed to the theory that “practice makes perfect.” I preferred the axiom that only perfect practice makes perfect. Anyone who has ever attempted to master a skill will realize that practicing the same chore without improvement will not be profitable no matter how much time is committed.