Obama wants kids to spend more time at school?

forgive me,but our children are over weight as it is,schools are cutting recess and gym every year! with longer school days and possible longer school year,when will the kids be running,skipping, jumping? as it is,kids are in school from 7 to 4 everyday and with parents working kids are spending less and less time at home,what happened to the days of bike riding and jumping rope? is there anyone out there who would actually like to see more of their kids"We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day," Obama said, adding U.S. education to his already crowded list of top priorities. fyi obama this country still has a LOT of farmers! http://www.kansascity.com/444/story/1078454.html

This is mind boggling!. Our schools are already failing, a great percentage of our teachers are incompetent and another percentage are having sex with their preteen students.

Children are waiting in the dark at bus stops and arriving home after dark.

For those who really care, there is no time for the family to spend together, parents to help with homework.

Maybe he thinks it will keep the delinquent, pot heads off the streets which any reasonable person knows is ridiculous.

He either needs to shuck this idiotic idea or subject his darling little ggirlsto the same burden he wants to put on other families and children.

Maybe families like to eat together, pray together, play together, chat together. I don't get it! Where is Obama's mind??? What are his ulterior motives. Maybe an extra few hours to teach socialism or more study from text books that have changed the entire history of the U.S.

I don't see the point in adding days to the school year, which will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, when the quality of our schools continue to suffer.

Whats the point of adding a week to the school year when those days are going to be spent watching movies and doing pretty much nothing productive?

It's the quality of the teachers that need to be examined, and I am happy Obama is trying to take on the Teachers Union. Teachers that aren't doing their job should be fired.

More time with the state=less time with parents.

This will ensure that the youth are indoctrinated to report parents that step outside the bounds of Barry's administration. Its a political landgrab, just like the census. He is trying to change who is the master of children, parents or the state. I think we know who Barry will side with. ( for you libs, its the state)

Your complaint makes little sense. Expanding the school day doesn't decrease the opportunity for children to exercise. Kids DON'T do any of the stuff you list NOW... I think it would make more sense to expand the day and put PE back into schools.

This country has a tiny fraction of family farms compared to 100 years ago when our school system was being put in place.

American kids need better teachers. They don't need more time at school. Do away with the useless teachers' union that won't allow merit raises. Everyone has to get the same raise socialism now. Reward the teachers who work hard and get rid of the lazy ones who don't give 2 figs about the kids. We've nearly lost all of our decent teachers now. Get some discipline back into the classroom. If the kids can't make the grade then make them repeat the grade until they do! What is wrong with the American people? What's happened to our country?

yes he wants that to happen but i doubt congress/ board of education will actually follow through with that idea

and they better not

i hate the school institution,

i wish i was home-schooled or was allowed to take classes online or something.......teachers and students just get in your way of trying to learn something sometimes

your exercise thing doesn't make sense but still school shouldn't be extended

Honey, they can put back recesses and gym if they have more time. Your argument doesn't make much sense. Kids go home from school and do what? Play video games? Watch TV? Precious few go outside to play anymore. And if they do, they ride motorized pretend cars. We have gotten entirely too lazy.

Yes. He is arguing that other developed nations have longer school years. Given all that's now crammed into the average curriculum, its not a bad idea. And, it would give schools enough time to offer PE and art.

I disagree with him on this. Better curriculum and better management of teaching time is all that is needed. There is much to be learned outside of a classroom also.

he wants the schools to begin using kids as soldiers

and

and he wants to dictate new history books that only favor him

YES WE CAN

IMPEACH THE MAN

When was the last time you saw kids run, skip, and jump. It's not the schools it's video games.

So he can indoctrinate them with more far-left ideologies

Do you have data that correlates the two?

If you are so upset about it, homeschool your kids. I thought that was what farmers and fundies did anyway.

Other industrialized countries keep their children in school longer hours and with a longer school year and their test scores are much better than the USA's. The school year used to be planned around the harvest and now it is no longer relevant as fewer than 1% own family farms. We are losing the education race and he is trying to address this issue.

What happened to the days of running, skipping and jumping? Those days are long over with the advent of TV, video games, and high crime.