Are you a new home-schooler? Often newbies try to replicate a seven-hour school day! They are operating under the premise that a standard school day requires seven full hours of instruction. In another life I taught professionally—mainly at the high school level. Now I teach high school subjects for the local Co-op twice a week. How much time do you need? Very young children might only work for an hour and a half. Younger children, 9-12, can complete their lessons in two to three hours, especially if they work five days a week. Teens may need three or four hours. Families often have a reading hour after lunch. (Yes, listening to a fun audio book counts!) Families feel they must somehow be short-changing their children. After all instruction doesn’t take all day.
Not all the class time in public or private schools is well spent. It’s better in private schools with small classes. Usually, there are fewer disruptions. In a public school, there are many, many sources of lost instructional time. The first week, teachers seldom teach much.
The first few days are spent with homeroom for hours to allow time for all of the kids to complete forms. Teachers were expected to show these students their lockers and complete a host of forms. Hours. The first day, all of the teachers literally took each class outside to show them where their line was for a fire drill. Teachers show students where their lockers are. I can’t make this up.
Another huge loss of instruction is the review period. I can’t tell you how many teachers persist in weeks and weeks of review of previously taught material before they begin teaching their core subject. For example, students have learned metrics and conversions repeatedly. Still, chem teachers spend weeks in review.
Another time loss is home-room or the announcement period, which can cut short the first class of the day. At the high school level, there is five minutes of passing time between classes. Teachers must take attendance for each class—which must be recorded into the computer, along with grades. Many teachers use ‘bell-ringers’ to allow time to post attendance.
Every month there is at least one fire drill. There can be more! There can be tornado and shooter drills, too. Every drill means twenty to thirty minutes lost. Additionally, there are field trips, assemblies, and pep rallies. If a team goes to a championship, the entire school might go outside to cheer them on to the bus. There are special announcements during the day and final announcements at the end of the day. Time is spent on periodic homeroom meetings or clubs. Don’t ask about Fridays or holidays. Movie madness reigns the week or so before any break.
What happens when there is a substitute teacher? The teacher might leave an assignment. However, it is much more likely the instructor left a movie to watch—preferably from his or her discipline. I taught at a school where the televisions had been donated. Students watched a mandatory program daily at lunch time. During the first week of school, the science department broadcast the same safety film to watch every year.
Did I mention testing? I don’t mean tests teachers assign; there are federal tests and state tests. If the state requires a standardized test in May, teachers in that subject need to complete their regular instruction by April in order to review the year’s material for the May test. After the test? There is little instruction. Teens play games, chat, and watch films. Few teachers continue instruction after the exams.
When I taught professionally, I did everything possible to combat the loss of instructional time. It was still significant. Whenever a teen is disruptive in class, there is time lost. Be aware that not every class in any school setting is academic. There are art, music, library, band, gym, cooking, computer, marketing, and language classes. Yes, you can confine formal instruction to the morning when you home-school and still give your child an excellent education—free from many common interruptions.
High school students may need more time for math and science, especially labs. Teens tend to take courses remotely, which require more time. Often Co-ops meet once a week, from 9 AM to 2 PM with classes. Our math and science Co-op classes meet form 90 minutes twice a week and have reading, homework, and tests outside of class. Literature and History classes meets once a week for 90 minutes with outside work. Home-school teens seldom require seven hours every day to complete their work because there are many, many fewer disruptions.
No comments:
Post a Comment