First off when did June become an extra month of heat when you take away August? If I were a teacher or a student, I would not want to be in class in August, especially if my IPS school had no A/C. Isnt that the reason we got vaca in the first place, in addition for kids helping on the farms? Besides congress still gets August off traditionally because of the heat.

What did they ever do in those good old days before a/c? Fact is, buildings were built without a/c, for schools! What's Up with That?
Meanwhile, counting the days September thru May I come up with 190 available for instruction and that is not even counting all the half or full days available each month called Saturdays. Before laughing, many college courses used to go MWF and TThS-high schools too.
I'd rather pay June a/c costs than August ones, wouldn't everyone? As I recall, the Indiana Senate passed a bill to end this August foolishness but that dildo, Porter, would not even hear the bill in the House.

Franklin Central Middle/High School Calendar http://www.ftcsc.k12.in.us/docs/calendars/0910s...
School starts 7:10 and dismissed @ 2:15 except every Wednesday then dismissal is @ 1:40.
Counting weekends Christmas break is 17 days.
Since schooling is a required 180 days and school days except Wednesdays are 7 hours long my thoughts are add a hour to the school day, eliminate a few days of Christmas/winter break and move the start date to day after Labor Day.. anyone that looks at the school calendar, you'll see school is out for the summer on May 20.
And a side note students out here are in school 7 hrs 5 minutes each day (except Weds). Just for the heck of it lets say a school day is 7 hrs….7×180days=1980 hrs, if a school day were 8 hours and using the 1980 hrs above that comes to 157.5 days.
This could be a solution for the August start date AND also a savings for school budgets… a/c expense, cafeteria expense, transportation expense, janitorial expense, etc, etc….

Correct link to 2010-2011 school calendar.
http://www.ftcsc.k12.in.us/docs/calendars/1011s...

One does have to laugh out loud concerning the term “educational professionals” but isn't the 180 day business a canard? It addresses only, perhaps, the quantity of education, if that. Mr. Bennett does have to address education myths as do the rest of us but more of the same old same old isn't going to improve outputs. Real Education, a recent book by Charles Murray, was mandated reading for the Roundtable but maybe the Super missed the homework?
Kids who have missed any schooling at all for years and come to school as 9 or 10 year olds pick up all (ALL) academic materials they have missed in much less than one school year. The academic results of all day Kindergarten are next to nil. So, reducing the amount of “schooling” and maximizing the amount of instruction to those able to absorb it seems to be the utilitarian and economical approach.
I assume that no readers have forgotten all their serious time wasted in school or have need to be reminded that home schoolers get thru the material (all of it) in less than three hours a day? We could also reduce textbook costs by only purchasing the first halt of them since schools don't actually use the last 50% of chapters….

Perhaps we need to consider how productive the time spent in class is. On the third day of school at a Carmel Middle School the kids were being tested on the state capitals. Seriously? How many times in my life has my ability to be a productive member of society depended on being able to recall that Helena is the capital Montana.

Seriously, can we please teach the kiddies something useful in life? If they are just filling the time with Carson City, Nevada and Bismark, North Dakota … maybe they have too much time. Unless we're training kids for a successful career as a Jeopardy contestant.

The next wave in the breakdown of America is now upon us.
This week's initial claims numbers, continued collapse of the real estate industry, inflationary pressures in energy and food, and an endless war in the Middle East are applying geometric downward pressure upon the dollar.

The Democratic Party is now fracturing similar to the Republican Party post 2008 and it appears there will be a landslide victory in both House and Senate races. Obama's charm factor is over and Americans do believe he is a Socialist while smart people consider his idealism and policies to be a blend of both Fascist and Communist which in our nation that thrives upon individualism and one's desire to be left alone, this speaks volumes towards Obama's eventual single term Presidency.

The two party system is broken and people are quickly dropping affiliations which will transcend a new era in politics as liberty-leaning candidates will start taking over of both political parties or a formation of a new third party (sorry Libertarians, but in order to survive, you have to rebrand yourself with a new, more simple name and approach). If the Libertarian Party adjusts it's branding while the iron is hot, I can assure you that they will be able to attract independents and middle america to their platform which will create a new political power in both National and Local politics. The appetite for change is here and people no longer believe in Obama, McCain, Pelosi, Reid, Lindsey Graham, and any others who stand against the people in regards to the war, economy, and personal freedom/liberty issues. Anyone who is watching and aware are seeing that Ron Paul's message has grown out of the garden of liberty and is spreading amongst all cultural, economic, and political classes of people and I truly believe Ron Paul's message has already united hundred of thousands of activists and aspiring liberty candidates who will not bend to the will of corporate, union, and special interests, but rather lead the people as humble servants who truly believe in liberty for all.

On top of the changes listed above, I also believe that the race card has been played out and no longer effective to the vast majority of people. We are truly witnessing the outgrowth of people who declare themselves as human beings and although we all see our differences, we realize that the differences are on an individual basis and not that of cultural expedience. For the past four years, we have observed the media attempting to play the race card while declaring Obama is black when we all know he is both white and black, thus negating this twisted logic as being divisive and counter productive. Those who continue to play this card will be called out and handled in ways which will show the people that they are not unifying the people, but part of the problem that has waged race warfare upon the people with no real solutions offered.

We are at a moment of history where we have a chance to solve basic human needs without the government here to intercede for all problems has a solution and one that does not involve government theft through redistribution, but rather the basic compassionate act of each person working towards helping another as we are aware that we are on the same ship in the high seas.

In the “days of yore” it wasn't a dealbreaker for kids & their parents to deal with a holiday break. I suggest (for the millionth time), that we tackle our abysmal societal parenting standards and help Johnny retain material over break instead of sending him to schools without air conditioning in Mid-August.

However, a genuine thrust for better parenting would mean we finally refuse to subsidize it, and/or remove children from dysfunctional homes to find them real parenting. As that's often presently perceived as too hateful and uncompassionate, I don't think anybody has to worry about helping kids retain what they've learned over holiday break.

Instead they can worry about our children graduating at all- from schools that fall further and further behind in global competition. Why worry about year-round school when we're still floundering with nine-month school?

It's not a racial issue, but is a lot like the priorities the Star places on news coverage. Why worry about the shootings at the Expo on p. 14 when you can read about the “pride” of the gathering on p. 1?

Would you like cheese on that?

Sometimes, I agree with you, Pascal. The time-on-task argument, in and of itself, is nonsense. Especially if it's not accompanied by the ebst classroom professionals in the ebst-avialable teaching environments.

But Greg Porter stood up for all of us on multipl eoccasions, including the one you cite. He was and is right.

And ample research exists to indicate that kindergarten time, spent in quality settings, is very valuable. But it isn't for everyone. That's why it's not mandatory. Remember–learning patterns and technique, are often learned or set by the age of 5-6. Any inefficient learning patterns have to be re-taught and re-aligned, which isn't easy.

I thank Jon for a solid approach to this problem. Another approach, which would spread out the school year and reduce future construction, is year-round school. Everywhere it's tried, folks love it. There are ample vacations and the younger children, in particular, excel when they don't have large gaps between learning curves.

The opposit side of your argument, Sean, is that too many kids graduate high school not even knowing the capital of Indiana. Seriously.

And it IS important.

Of course, the basics of life (reading, math) are more important. But we've allowed learning-shorthand to take hold for almost tow generations. Those folks are now voting and their vote counts the same as yours and mine. Are you fully comfortable with their knowledge base, or their ability to learn about candidates/campaigns?

A large part of that crowd, Sena, thinks we need to amend the Constitution for any social issue that comes along, which would horrify the founders. And they think individual states can amend their constitutions to remove or alter basic rights identified in the federal Constitution.

No state cna remove federally-gauranteed rights. Ever. It was and is a fool's errand, but Cali, among other states, thinks it can do so.

And too many folks have the social skills of a boiled egg, which makes too many of them, uh, difficult to live with. Social skills are best-taught by professionals and learned in quality homes. Or both. But look around–are you confortable with the level of social interaction of, say, 16-24-year-old urban youth? Think they've finely-honed the skills of negotiation and talking out problems?

Scary times. I vote for more-informed voters, and a solid dose of personal-interaction skills, which usually start with more-informed students. Via public, private and home schools. And we all contribute to the socialization side of it, via schools, homes, religious institutions, etc.

Here is a faily good video to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yxjNAt_Jdk

I will suggest that the judge cannot serve in two separate capacities for the judge's job is to be impartial (like a referee) and that equality under the law is paramount. The judge's entered plea, if addressed the right way, can put him in the capacity of treason.

Also, there is a procedure in how to handle oneself in court and there are many errors in this man's approach for he cannot recognize the court without reserving and protecting his rights and part of this takes place initially before he enters the bar and also even in how his name (security) is being utilized.

I agree 100% with your sentiments here TA. There is some balance though. I think anybody who can get half of them (state capitals) is doing pretty well (I would have been hard pressed to do that until reviewing them all with one of our kids for the test [on day 3]).

The memorization and regurgitation isn't as important as knowing how to find, use, analyze and critically evaluate information.

I continue to believe the whole system could be re-engineered to be much more effective and efficient. It's time to let free market competition, school choice, innovation and higher expectations take hold and see what kind of great things result.

There are frequent conversations that Libertarian as a name for the political party AND the ideology might be a mistake and that the word itself is far too close to both “libertine” and “liberal”.

As for the race card. Jon Stewart recently noted that the Race Card is maxed out. http://www.mediaite.com/online/the-daily-shows-...

The only problemis: what's the penalty, if a free-market school performs badly? Where's the accountability?

Now, we have elected school boards, an elected state superintendent, legislators and others to whom we cna complain or suggest.

Even though I think the current state superintendent isn't great, mostly because he ran a school district poorly (using student performance as a measure), I'm glad he's elected and in-place. We have the ability to petition him, or school boards, or legislators, to make change.

If Charter School X is flailing, the accountability trail is: state gets testing back, reports it, after two years the bad chasrter school can have its license yanked the next year.

Not good enough.

If we really want to help kids, we'll cut class size. Even withi a bad teacher, fewer kids in the classroom reduce the teacehrs' workload, and, theoretically, increase the one-on-one availability.

To effectively do that, we need more classrooms. We can ebst-accomplish that by going to a 12-month schedule. We don't need to build anotehr damned school in Marion County for 30 years.

The accountability? In a free market based system? They lose customers. If “brand X” laundry detergent isn't getting the job done you can go to “brand Y”. The accountability is that they go out of business and are replaced in the marketplace by a better one.

The idea that elections create accountability is (not meaning to be sarcastic or demeaning here) comical. We have enough examples of politicians making and breaking promises, screwing up economies and failing at so many other things and “the people” do not really hold them accountable. They pull lever for “party of choice” in overwhelming numbers. The middle 20% can't hold the whole world accountable via elections. CUSTOMERS can though.

Most people can't even name their local school superintendent, school board. Most of them can't name their Federal House Representative, State Rep or State Senator. How can they hold them accountable if all they know to do is go into a polling a place and a “L” or and “R” lever like a robot?

Next Video to watch too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89pOwgCZJ7I&feat...

We understand the theory but observe that in practice the theory has not performed as predicted. We would be better off with class sizes of 50 or 60.

Abdul,

What is your privacy policy?

Someone is spreading rumors that you have been disclosing the identities of people who post on your blog.

OTQ,

For the most part, we don't disclose anyone's identity here. The only time I call someone out is if they are a jerk and post under multiple identities. Otherwise, your secret is safe with me.

I agree with Jon. I was in high school when we changed to an early start in August. Of course, it was difficult that first year to go back in August when we were used to going back after Labor Day, however, I loved being done with the semester prior to the holiday break! The stress of having assignments and preparing for exams over break was much worse than starting the school year early. I think that the holiday break should be focused on spending time with family and celebrating the holidays, not being consumed with studies. You also face the problem of kids who won't study during that time off anyway and will suffer retention problems. Of course, this is just my opinion. As a parent, I prefer the early start for the same reasons that I always liked, especially having a high schooler taking exams. I love when my kids come home on the last day of the semester, and they are excited about the holidays and ready for a break. I would also be in favor of year round school too, however, I have given up on our state making any additional investments in education…that is where the true debate should be.

Takes money for a 12-month schedule. Maybe we can reap some thru increased taxation- particularly on the rich. Maybe some. But, unlike in years past, “the rich” can also go where our global competitors might welcome them with cheaper labor costs and less regulation.

I contend in the balancing act of restoration, we may gamble on rescinding the Bush tax cuts, but only to use the revenue for paying down debt/deficit – all while: asking everybody to chip-in, reducing spending across the board, and announcing that everyone from illegal employers to Mitch Roob to Timothy Geitner to Brandon Johnson's mom will be accountable for their actions.

With the magic fairy dust that just made this happen- maybe then, business is encouraged to get off the sidelines with investment that drives tax revenue- which could help drive 12-month schools. Which, if I read your typo correctly, I agree, apparently we have to have to compete.

But, I don't know where to get fairy dust, or the dictator who will make all these things happen (all at once).

No credible research exists to validate this ridiculous claim.

Ya had me til Brandon's mom.

Losing customers is not enough accountability when it's with my tax dollars. Thus, it isn't a free market system.

Nice try, though.

Would you care to prove your unfounded assertation?

Suspect you are referring to the author of Advance Indiana.

After reading some comments on his blog today, I noticed someone had highjacked my tag name. I don't post on Advance Indiana or any other blog requiring registration.

Thanks for keeping my real name secret.

Uh, no, fool…YOU made the assertion that practice trumps theory in regards to class size. YOU should have to prove your ridiculous claim, because:

Common sense does not win your argument. However, because you typically pop off without backup, here are a few of the more-accepted reviews of this subject. Don't you get tired of having other folks do your heavy lifting? Need help reading these?

http://www.heros-inc.org/star.htm
http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/class_size_study
http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/mf_PB08_ClassSiz...

Now: Poof. Be. Gone. With the ridiculous observation you've made. Pay particular attention to Newberg and Sage. Wisconsin's results with lower class size have been remarkable and without question.

How about we change the requirement from 180 days, to the equal number of hours. Then a school corporation can start later if they want, go longer days, heck go 4 days a week even at longer hours if they want. It being days instead of hours makes no sense.

Still trying (not succeeding) in being brief. .

Not referring to Brandon- his brother. I'd think the average person would be concerned if the minor boy next door was breaking into an abandoned house in the neighborhood. The parent(s) are accountable. In this instance, to the best of my understanding, Brandon and his brother are being raised by their mother.

Sounds good to me.

Well, first off. Don't confuse two different things. Choice of school vs. how it is paid for.

AND, it's not YOUR tax dollars. It's THEIRS or OURS or dollars allocated to the student.

It's unfortunate the so many people are more comfortable letting the government shove monopoly education systems, regardless of quality instead of letting grown up folks decide what is best for their kids.

YOU don't get to decide for them. Let THEM decide. ;-)

It never occurred to me that they shouldn’t have that option. Schools should not be run by the government. Like I keep saying, time to chuck the current system.

Point made. Brandon's mom is accountable for the son who was acting foolish. For Brandon, at worst, the jury is still out.

I'll not confuse anything, Sean..it's our tax dollar,s to be sure…but you haven't answered the question about accountability and consequences. Changing schools, or the school failing, isn't enough. Public schools don't have the same option.

Your argument is full of holes.

Even if we or a larger “we” agreed on trying something requiring bipartisan, cross-demographic sacrifice, the chances of getting the polarized parties to cooperate in threatening BOTH their election chances is pure fiction.

The person who says this says to all that he has examined all the research in the world on this subject and that nowhere did he find any credible research. Only a benighted fool would ever say something so stupid and, poof! We have such right here in Indiana!

It will take more “poof” than you can muster to make me be gone. Indiana has long had a program to reduce class sizes, hasn’t it? And, the ISTEP results, you know, measure results instead of academic opinions, don’t show any improvement at all, do they? After, several decades, no improvement. Does anyone care at all about what may have occured in Wisconsin? Wisconsin isn’t Indiana.
Why, yes, I propose class sizes of 60 kids each which would mean a lot less teachers and their salaries for no performance. I suggest, contradict me if you will, that dropping two out of three teacher’s costs would make us all better off.

How about getting the government out of the provision of substandard consumer goods?

Pascal, in his mathmatical mind, sometimes wonders if there are upper bounds on the sizes of “distance learning” classes? More than a few colleges now offer these and even advanced college degrees can be accomplished on line. Those who have done their homework in Indiana (reading Real Education) should be aware of the vast cost savings available in so-called Indiana Education-those savings making your average taxpayer much better off.

“Speaking of school, most schools have already started. Again, I wish we were like Michigan;it’s illegal there to begin school prior to Labor Day. Thse people in our state legislature and elsewhere who make decisions about starting school so early should be put in jail”.
The view of a prominant Indianapolis Pastor.

“Speaking of school, most schools have already started. Again, I wish we were like Michigan;it's illegal there to begin school prior to Labor Day. Thse people in our state legislature and elsewhere who make decisions about starting school so early should be put in jail”.

The view of a prominant Indianapolis Pastor.