School Days
A great number of K-12 students in Iowa are going back to school this week…with many districts starting with a one-day week. The first day of classes will be this Friday, just in time for the weekend.
I don’t have children or grandchildren, so I’m pretty disconnected from schools. However, I questioned that approach in a conversation the other day with some folks. They pointed out that usually the first day of school was sort of a waste from an educational standpoint, so why not just get all of that out of the way and start fresh on Monday.
There is a point to that. But I’m told the real reason is different.
There are lots of high schools that start their football season Friday night…and other sports like volleyball and cross country have tournaments and invitationals. The rules say that you can’t have an athletic competition if you’re not in school…so apparently those setting the calendar have figured out when they need to start holding athletic events in order to be done in time for the playoffs and state tournaments…and the academic calendar is based upon that.
Don’t get me wrong, I think there is a large role for sports to play in developing a young person, and the framework of the school is the logical place for it.
But talk about the tail wagging the dog…we make sure school starts so we can put on the uniform, and not fitting sporting events around classwork?
I spent 25 years teaching college students, and those calendars are similarly crazy.
But this all sends the wrong idea of what’s most important…when time on the field or court dictates time in the classroom.
