All-day school schedules

I guess I hit the nail on the head.

Martin Tomčić spoke out against the move to full-day schooling, and then she got a message from her teacher.

Martin Tomčić posted on Instagram, criticizing that new school reform aiming to bring full-day programs to elementary schools all over the US.

Full-day school? Seriously? With all the issues we're facing in the American school system—locking kids up in classrooms, restricting their freedom, serving junk food, forcing them to give up music or sports, and just piling on more boring stuff they have to memorize—is this really the solution we need? I guess it's just one more thing to deal with.

I guess kids these days have such high empathy levels. Schools really push them to think critically and question things, and they actually seem to enjoy learning. Plus, they spend so much time being active outdoors, so they come home feeling relaxed and totally on top of their schoolwork without needing any extra tutoring.

Maybe it would be best if they just opened up mandatory boarding schools and we could pick our kids up for the weekend to bring them back to their family nests. Of course, that’s only if they actually did well in school and earned their weekend with Mom and Dad, I guess.

Her teacher reached out to her.
Martin's post sparked a ton of reactions, but she was especially moved by a message from her daughter's teacher.

Martin, thanks for this. I think we all want real, meaningful changes, and honestly, I’m the first one ready to put in more work. But if we just keep using the same old content and methods, we haven't actually achieved anything. We have to find a way to motivate kids and make them actually fall in love with learning. It should be like that "wow" feeling they get from dance, music, or sports.

I guess it’s possible, just maybe not like this. All these changes won't really matter if we don't change how we actually approach our students and our teaching methods. Staying at school longer isn't going to magically force knowledge into their heads. I wish they would have at least asked us teachers what we thought. It’s not a totally bad idea, but I think parents and kids should probably have some kind of choice in the matter.

driftingranger2 said:So Fuchs is claiming kids will only be in school until 3 PM for two days a week, and then until 2:15 PM the rest of the time.
Is he actually lying through his teeth, or is the media just twisting his words?

And now he’s out there repeating the exact same thing on NBC:

jadetinker85 said:Fair point, but our athletic reputation is better than most World Bank countries, and that won't happen if kids are stuck in class all day—let alone with a single-shift schedule.

Full-day schooling? No way. But if you're an athlete, a single-shift schedule is probably the better bet, I guess.

driftingranger2 said:So Fuchs is claiming kids will only be in school until 3 PM for two days a week, and then until 2:15 PM the rest of the time.
Is he actually lying through his teeth, or is the media just twisting his words?

It’s intentional, deliberate, and honestly pretty rude!
All you have to do is look at the actual documentation.

First off, the schedules aren't uniform—they vary for elementary students, 5th/6th graders, and 7th/8th graders.
So, no, everyone isn't getting dismissed at the same time.
For students who don't currently take a second language or religious studies, their weekly hours actually increase by four hours (plus an extra hour of computer science for 7th/8th graders, which is elective right now).
They've also added more breaks, which means the total amount of sunlight time students get inside the building actually goes up.
With the current A1 and A2 curriculum requirements, there is absolutely no way those classes finish before 3:00 PM, and certainly not for the older kids.

Furthermore, he keeps insisting that nobody will lose their jobs. But I have to wonder: if a certain school currently has two lead teachers per grade—say, six teachers for grades 1 through 4—and the new plan moves everything to just one teacher, where does that leave the other staff?
Or maybe they just don't care because the founders and parents are the ones picking up the tab, so technically it's not the Department of Education's problem?

I mean, honestly, I don't think the Department of Education even realizes what they're doing here—it’s like they aren't even thinking about our IT staff. They talk about cutting their hourly rates in half, but they aren't accounting for all those specialized tasks that *only* these tech folks handle. You know, the stuff that keeps everything running behind the scenes—managing the digital gradebooks, handling server administration, keeping the student databases up, plus maintaining the school's website and social media accounts. If they try to just dump all that technical workload onto regular teachers without actually increasing their hours... well, a huge chunk of these specialists are just going to end up being redundant. It doesn't make any sense.

Sarah Hall53 said:I mean, honestly, I don't think the Department of Education even realizes what they're doing here—it’s like they aren't even thinking about our IT staff. They talk about cutting their hourly rates in half, but they aren't accounting for all those specialized tasks that *only* these tech folks handle. You know, the stuff that keeps everything running behind the scenes—managing the digital gradebooks, handling server administration, keeping the student databases up, plus maintaining the school's website and social media accounts. If they try to just dump all that technical workload onto regular teachers without actually increasing their hours... well, a huge chunk of these specialists are just going to end up being redundant. It doesn't make any sense.

But then who's actually going to handle all that work? 🤔

Honestly, listening to him lie so blatantly just makes my skin crawl.
And this whole bit about how "nobody will be left without work" is really just a mindless attempt to dodge the actual issue at hand.
Look, the problem isn't that people aren't talking about job losses—though, frankly, employees might just walk out on their own if you try to push this nonsense through—it's that everyone is absolutely repulsed by the sheer stupidity of keeping kids locked up in school all day long.
It’s just a fundamentally rotten idea.

Sarah Hall53 said:I mean, honestly, I don't think the Department of Education even realizes what they're doing here—it’s like they aren't even thinking about our IT staff. They talk about cutting their hourly rates in half, but they aren't accounting for all those specialized tasks that *only* these tech folks handle. You know, the stuff that keeps everything running behind the scenes—managing the digital gradebooks, handling server administration, keeping the student databases up, plus maintaining the school's website and social media accounts. If they try to just dump all that technical workload onto regular teachers without actually increasing their hours... well, a huge chunk of these specialists are just going to end up being redundant. It doesn't make any sense.

Actually, more than half of the things you listed over there aren't handled by IT people at my place (and honestly, they never have been).
I mean, I'm not working in an elementary school, but still.

Susan James said:But then who's actually going to handle all that work? 🤔

It’ll still be the same handful of people—only now, instead of just adding to their teaching hours, they're expected to do it on top of everything else out of "love for the school." I mean, I'm being serious—some suit from the Department of Education actually said those exact words at a meeting for principals. Just... "lean into your love for the school." Unbelievable.

@urbantinker8 - In our district, the math teachers usually get absolutely crushed by the schedule, and then they try to dump all this digital stuff onto the IT guy if there's even a tiny bit of room left. If he's already maxed out, they just start looking for the next victim.

urbantinker8 said:Honestly, listening to him lie so blatantly just makes my skin crawl.
And this whole bit about how "nobody will be left without work" is really just a mindless attempt to dodge the actual issue at hand.
Look, the problem isn't that people aren't talking about job losses—though, frankly, employees might just walk out on their own if you try to push this nonsense through—it's that everyone is absolutely repulsed by the sheer stupidity of keeping kids locked up in school all day long.
It’s just a fundamentally rotten idea.

I mean, tech professionals are definitely going to head for the exits.
And there is absolutely no way this attracts any new talent.

Do you really think anyone wants to work part-time with a fragmented schedule from 8 to 3, just waiting around for some elective class at 3:30 PM for three or four exhausted students who are only doing robotics because their parents forced them to?

I mean, honestly, the computer science crowd is going to leave regardless, and they certainly don't need an all-day curriculum to make that happen—I suppose you have to wonder who would even bother teaching IT at an elementary school level when they could be working with a much more prestigious degree for that kind of pay anyway.🤣
The whole idea of an all-day school schedule is probably just going to result in kids idling around and might actually accelerate the exodus of students, though I guess they’ll ultimately leave because they want to, rather than being forced out by some misguided policy that treats them like they're suddenly redundant, which is what this idiot seems to think is happening.

urbantinker8 said:I mean, honestly, the computer science crowd is going to leave regardless, and they certainly don't need an all-day curriculum to make that happen—I suppose you have to wonder who would even bother teaching IT at an elementary school level when they could be working with a much more prestigious degree for that kind of pay anyway.🤣
The whole idea of an all-day school schedule is probably just going to result in kids idling around and might actually accelerate the exodus of students, though I guess they’ll ultimately leave because they want to, rather than being forced out by some misguided policy that treats them like they're suddenly redundant, which is what this idiot seems to think is happening.

There’s always that group of people who struggle to move up the ladder because they just can't quite reach the necessary skill level—and honestly, they really do exist. I remember working at a firm back in Chicago where we had a few folks stuck in entry-level roles for years, not because they weren't hard workers, but because they simply lacked the technical chops to handle more responsibility. It’s a tough reality of the professional world, but it happens everywhere.
There’s always a handful of enthusiasts out there—it’s a given!

A huge part of why people choose this path is all about the schedule. Once they wrap up their school day, they actually have real time left for their families, hobbies, or even taking on some tutoring gigs on the side. It’s honestly not even a secret at this point.

Susan James said:There’s always that group of people who struggle to move up the ladder because they just can't quite reach the necessary skill level—and honestly, they really do exist. I remember working at a firm back in Chicago where we had a few folks stuck in entry-level roles for years, not because they weren't hard workers, but because they simply lacked the technical chops to handle more responsibility. It’s a tough reality of the professional world, but it happens everywhere.
There’s always a handful of enthusiasts out there—it’s a given!

A huge part of why people choose this path is all about the schedule. Once they wrap up their school day, they actually have real time left for their families, hobbies, or even taking on some tutoring gigs on the side. It’s honestly not even a secret at this point.

It’ll probably just end up being teachers, maybe with some extra computer science classes added in. No one else.
Maybe a fresh grad here and there, just hanging on until they find something actually worthwhile.
Honestly, forget the working hours and everything else when the pay is this pathetic; now they’re going to ruin the one thing that was supposedly "perfect"—the schedule.
I mean, I was genuinely stunned today when a woman from the municipal sanitation department showed me her pay stub. She makes exactly a hundred dollars more than I do.🤮🤮🤮
At this rate, we might as well have someone from the local waste management crew come teach the full-day sessions for those wages.🤣🤣

I guess I might be overthinking this, maybe. Just some thoughts on the situation. Adam Diaz67 says:
Computer science teachers are going to leave regardless; they don't need full-time classes for that. I mean, who would actually teach elementary school IT with a relevant degree when you consider what they could be making elsewhere?🤣
The whole day's practice is just going to be about watching people drift away from school, but they'll leave on their own terms. It won't be because some idiot bully makes them feel like they don't belong.

People like my cousin, who genuinely loves working with kids and isn't driven by the paycheck—her husband is a really successful real estate attorney out in California, after all. Beyond just loving the job, the schedule works perfectly for her, especially with all that summer break. And she’s not the only one, either. I know a few other people who could easily make way more money in the private sector, but they stick with teaching because they love being around the kids and value having so much free time.

It’s probably pretty easy when you have connections through family, especially if your husband happens to be a lawyer.
Unfortunately, I suppose you can't exactly survive on nothing but a pure love for your kids and thirty days of summer vacation.

Even their scheduling won't work anymore

It's a given that most women flock to teaching because the lifestyle suits family life. If the husband pulls in a solid salary, working at a school means being home after four or five hours instead of eight, leaving plenty of time for domestic duties

But honestly, that perceived advantage over other careers is evaporating now that remote work and flexible hours are becoming standard everywhere
In my firm, anyone with young kids just works from home when they get sick. They don't even bother calling in sick; the boss knows they won't be at 100% capacity, but they'll hit at least 50%. It saves everyone the headache of finding coverage, and the essential tasks still get done—it’s a win-win for both the employer and the staff

If you have that kind of flexibility plus a 20% higher paycheck, why on earth would anyone choose teaching? You'd be working significantly less than an 8-to-3 shift, yet you're still hauling grading home and spending nights prepping lesson plans

Kate Jackson4 said:Even their scheduling won't work anymore

It's a given that most women flock to teaching because the lifestyle suits family life. If the husband pulls in a solid salary, working at a school means being home after four or five hours instead of eight, leaving plenty of time for domestic duties

But honestly, that perceived advantage over other careers is evaporating now that remote work and flexible hours are becoming standard everywhere
In my firm, anyone with young kids just works from home when they get sick. They don't even bother calling in sick; the boss knows they won't be at 100% capacity, but they'll hit at least 50%. It saves everyone the headache of finding coverage, and the essential tasks still get done—it’s a win-win for both the employer and the staff

If you have that kind of flexibility plus a 20% higher paycheck, why on earth would anyone choose teaching? You'd be working significantly less than an 8-to-3 shift, yet you're still hauling grading home and spending nights prepping lesson plans

Exactly that.
I mean, he’s pulling in somewhere around two and a half times what I make, I guess. I guess you could say I'm just working from home today. Ever since the pandemic kicked off, his whole setup has been—well, I guess you could say it’s a bit more dialed in than mine. His schedule is definitely smoother, more relaxed, and way more flexible than what I'm dealing with, which is a nice change of pace, I suppose. He actually has all the right credentials to teach computer science at the high school level, too, barring any formal teaching certifications, and he’s currently sitting on three months of vacation time, which honestly sounds pretty ideal.🤣🎉
It’s honestly pretty tough to wrap my head around why that just never once occurred to him, you know? I mean, I guess it's one of those things where you sit there wondering how someone could navigate through life without ever really connecting the dots on something so obvious, though maybe I'm overthinking it. It's just... hard to grasp.😂
It’s worth mentioning, I suppose, that they have quite a soft spot for kids, which I think matters pretty significantly when you're looking at the whole story.😁
Both today and tomorrow, they’re going to be working until noon, and meanwhile, I’ll probably be stuck in meetings until who knows when, because, as many laypeople might assume, I don't exactly get a holiday break—students are quite a handful, I guess.😉)

Any reform worth its salt should aim to satisfy everyone involved. To me, that’s the baseline you have to start from before you even begin drafting new policies.

mellowskipper said:Full-day schooling? No way. But if you're an athlete, a single-shift schedule is probably the better bet, I guess.

Sure, but this way the facilities—the fields, the pools—stay busy all day. Kids with afternoon classes train in the morning, and vice versa. If you switched to one shift, everyone would just be fighting for space at once.

urbantinker8 said:It’ll probably just end up being teachers, maybe with some extra computer science classes added in. No one else.
Maybe a fresh grad here and there, just hanging on until they find something actually worthwhile.
Honestly, forget the working hours and everything else when the pay is this pathetic; now they’re going to ruin the one thing that was supposedly "perfect"—the schedule.
I mean, I was genuinely stunned today when a woman from the municipal sanitation department showed me her pay stub. She makes exactly a hundred dollars more than I do.🤮🤮🤮
At this rate, we might as well have someone from the local waste management crew come teach the full-day sessions for those wages.🤣🤣

I feel like I've been typing away this whole time!
It honestly feels like it’s not even worth it anymore, even for those people who only take certain jobs because they offer a great work-life balance.
It’s not like there's a huge surplus of teachers specialized in advanced computer science right now. We just don't have enough people trained for those specific roles. Once they actually start pumping out more graduates with those credentials, we'll finally see that next wave of educational reform take shape. 🤦

Regarding the potential pay raises, Ford claims that anyone who decides to participate in the pilot program will see a 25% bump in their salary.
😬