Explore options to improve quality of education in state
We need to improve the quality of education in our nation.
While a four-day school week has some advantages as far as costs and scheduling, it does nothing to improve the quality of education overall, which is what really needs to happen right now.
The Frederick Area School District will switch to a four-day week this fall, joining at least 16 other South Dakota school districts who are embracing the shorter-week option.
Students will attend classes Monday through Thursday, with about 30 minutes added to each school day so that no classroom time is lost in the transition. Randy Barondeau, the Frederick Area School District superintendent, said there are two big reasons for the change. One is activity scheduling, so students and teachers who coach won't be out late on school nights. Another is the estimated cost savings of $30,000 to $40,000 per school year because of fewer days for busing and lunchroom costs.
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While we applaud the creativity and cost-saving efforts of schools like Frederick, we think the bigger problem facing education in our nation is being ignored.
Why? Because time in the classroom matters.
According to the National Center on Time and Learning, the United States is near the bottom when comparing scores for fourth grade mathematics achievement and number of instructional days in a school year.
How can we continue to compete on the world scene when we are requiring less of our students -- our future scientists, researchers, developers and leaders -- than does the rest of the world?
However, that extra "quality" classroom time could be made up by extending the school year, which would have additional benefits. First it would keep young minds occupied during the summer. Second, it would help parents out with the age-old question: Now that school is out, what am I going to do with these kids?
These are options that should be explored.
Aberdeen American News
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Iowa's decision on gay marriage may hint to future
A decision by the Iowa Supreme Court that effectively allows gay marriages in the Hawkeye State came as a shock to many people. It also might suggest the course that the debate over same-sex marriage in this country is taking.
The big shock is that this court ruling emerged from the heartland of America. When a place like Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2004, detractors of such a move dismissed it as emanating from an ultraliberal state. So, when a measure legalizing same-sex marriage advanced in the Vermont House of Representatives the day before the Iowa Supreme Court decision, it was dismissed as part of the growing regional movement to legalize such unions across New England. ...
But Iowa? The state that borders both South Dakota and Nebraska? THAT Iowa?
With the state's Supreme Court ruling, Iowa could begin offering legal same-sex marriages by April 24, barring any appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. And efforts to repeal it by implementing a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions cannot go before voters until 2012 at the earliest.
The interesting wrinkle in the unanimous Iowa decision is that it doesn't say it specifically legalizes same-sex marriage but, instead, says the state's law banning such unions violates the constitutional rights of equal protection.
The debate on this issue is changing quickly, with both sides buoyed by high-profile victories in the past several months. Where it goes from here isn't clear, but it may get there more quickly than many people ever expected.
Yankton Press & Dakotan
