Saturday, January 23, 2016

Schools and the 'Extended Day' Program

From the Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday 24th January 2016,
'In a bid to bridge the gap between the 3pm end-of-school day and the longer working hours required of most parents, schools such as Kincoppal-Rose Bay and The King's School in Parramatta are offering an "extended day" program, which allows day students to use the "learning and home facilities" provided to boarders.'
"What's that got to do with chemistry, or even science education for that matter?" I hear you ask.
Well, it does make you wonder what other services schools, well teachers actually, could provide for busy parents doesn't it?

No-one understands the science behind cleaning better than your own chemistry department, so maybe we could add:
Not enough hours in the day to do the laundry?
Send your child AND your laundry to school.
We'll turn your clothes whiter than white and your child brighter than bright!
 Perhaps the Biology department could offer the ultimate "home-delivery" experience:
Too busy to waste time on months of pregnancy, and hours of delivery?    
9 minutes: time it takes to order your child online.                                        
9 months:  delivery time. Your new child home-delivered to your door!

Or maybe what is really needed is for the Physics department to practice a little time dilation and truly "extend the day",
Are your children growing up too fast? 
Light-speed after school care will keep your kids young longer, so you can enjoy more time with them!
But I think the service that most teachers would agree to be the, well, most agreeable would be,
Can't afford to take time off work for a holiday?
Your child's chemistry teacher is ready to sacrifice her own holiday plans in order to take your arduous,  month-long, overseas vacation. She'll force herself to relax on the beach, snorkel with the fish, socialize with the other resort guests, in fact, do everything you would do if you just had the time.
But the questions I would really like these "schools" to answer are;
If school teachers have to stay at school until 8p.m. so the school can provided after-school care for the children of "busy parents", will the school provide this child-minding service free-of-charge for the children of the teachers forced into having their day extended?
and more importantly

Do schools, and/or parents, really think "teacher supervision" can replace "parental love and care"?

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