Why We Will Never Have Real School Reform

An article from the Washington Post concerning the conflict between what we know about student learning and the increasingly early start times at DC-area high schools. This paragraph describes all the political reasons why changing the school day is so hard:

"Serious discussions about changing school hours become ensnared in conflict and competing interests. Coaches typically don't want practice times and game schedules to be disrupted. After-school employers don't want to lose workers. Parents fear complications to their daily drop-off and pickup schedules. And any attempt to simplify the schedule -- say, by having every school open and close at the same time -- becomes a question of spiraling expense."

This is why it's so tough to change school...any reform is fine as long as it fits into the already accepted 8 to 3 day. I can't help thinking how online learning could help us break out of the school-day box!

You can read the rest of the article here: Teen Sleep Needs Spur Talk Of Later Start to School Day

Tags: education school+reform