re: Colorado School Districts going to 4 days a week

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Students in Finland start formal schooling at the age of seven. Yes, seven! Finland allows their children to be children, to learn through playing and exploring rather than sitting still locked up in a classroom. But don’t they get behind? No! The kids start school when they are actually developmentally ready to learn and focus. This first year is followed by only nine years of compulsory school. Everything after ninth grade is optional and at the age of 16 the students can choose from the following three tracks:

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Students typically start school between 9:00 and 9:45. Actually, Helsinki is thinking of creating a law stating that schools cannot begin before 9:00 am because research has consistently proved that adolescents need quality sleep in the morning. The school day usually ends by 2:00 or 2:45.

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Teachers have shorter days as well. According to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) an average Finnish teacher teaches 600 hours annually or about 4 or less lessons daily. An average U.S. teacher almost doubles that teaching time with an average of over 1,080 hours of in-class instruction annually

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Also, teachers and students in Finland are not expected to be at school when they do not have a class. For example, if they don’t have any afternoon classes on Thursdays, they (both teachers and students) can simply leave. Or if their first class on a Wednesday starts at 11:00, they don’t have to be at school until that time.

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Fewer Teachers = More Consistency and Care

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As I stated before, students only have three to four (or rarely, five) classes a day. They also have several breaks/recesses/ snack times during the day and these usually happen outside come rain or shine. These 15 to 20 minute gives them time to digest what they are learning, use their muscles, stretch their legs, get some fresh air and let out the “wiggles.”

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Less Testing = More Learning

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According to the OECD, Finnish students have the least amount of homework in the world.

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Trust is key to this whole system not structure. Instead of being suspicious of one another and creating tons of structure, rules, hoops and tests to see if the system is working, they simply trust the system.

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All teaching contracts I have seen are set by the number of days.

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So you just outed yourself as a socialist. Cause you view schools as simply state-sponsored daycare.

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Adding 40 minutes a day doesn't make up for cutting a day, even removing the time on the 5th day spent on lunch, changing classes, beginning and end of day, recess, etc. So I'm curious how they will get the same amount of work done.

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America: "Don't you dare pigeonhole my child and rob him of an equal opportunity at success."

That approach has clearly failed.

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Most of Europe has a strong understanding that higher education is not meant for everyone. Even the students.

If you read the article about Finland it goes on to say, that about 60% of students, at age 16, decide to enter a vocational school to learn a trade and enter the workforce.

Germany and other countries use this model as well. America should do the same.

If you're dumb at 16, chances are you're not going to wake up one morning and be Albert Einstein.

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Good lord I can't even comprehend the outrage from the helicopter parents in this country if we tried something like this here. 

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