180 Days

I chose the month of April which has the topic as 180 days as one of the best blogs. I read the blog and watched the powerpoint on this topic. This blog talks about how many days students go to school during the school year and about how many days are actually used for instruction. This was interesting to me because I never thought of how many days are taken away when you take away days for test, weather, graduation, and emergency drills. While some may not take the full day away, it does take the concentration of the students away from the actual instruction. I've never been one to agree with year around school but with so much on students plates now it should be a consideration for all schools.
I personally do not think school districts will ever find a way to accommodate the state's policies and the students' best interest. The author pointed out that his school used only 120 of the 180 for actual instruction days. You have to wonder if the school districts did add days to the year would they be used for curriculum or would they be used for makeup days taken away by tests, weather and graduation. I currently have a child in school and it amazes me how much time he spends on reviewing for standardized test, and he is only in the fifth grade. I dread when he enters middle and high school. Someone please pass the Tylenol.