Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Tell that to all the people who post in these threads remarking that teachers have a uniquely difficult job.
It's sort of how we run education in North America. The rest of the world does not take an 8 week break from school in the summer, and students are typically in school many more days than North American students. And studies are clear that the 8-week break (and the low number of instructional days) is detrimental to the academic progress of students.
The Underworked American (student)
No doubt part of that is just a cultural expectation in North America about kids having the whole summer off. But it's naive to think the fact Canada and the USA have the strongest teachers' unions in the world doesn't play a part. It would be interesting to have a public debate on the merits of year-round schooling, or increasing the length of the school day. Of course, the stance of teachers unions ensure we wouldn't even get to square one.
Anyone who informs themselves about the hours teachers work and how they're compensated in the rest of the world, and persists in the belief that the way things are done in Canada are in the interests of anyone but the teachers, is delusional. |
Not sure where that article gets its numbers from. According to OECD data Canadian students have some of the highest number of hours of instruction per year of any developed nation in the world:
http://www.oecd.org/education/skills...0%28eng%29.pdf
The idea that the Swedish school week is 60 hours is particularly ludicrous. Do they honestly expect people to believe that Swedish students are spending 12 hours a day at school? The required instructional hours in Sweden are about 750 hours a year (compared to about 925 in Canada) and they get more time off than most North American students. 10 weeks off in the summer, 3 weeks at Christmas, additional 1 week breaks in the fall, winter, and spring, and various single day holidays. My guess is they're including daycare time in countries that provide government funded care and shoehorning that into school time to try to make a point.