21st century calendar

Every where we educators go , we hear the new buzzword, "21st century skills" or "21st century learner". However, we are tied to a 19th century calendar. I have been pondering this lately and have come to the belief that we really can't be 21st century schools until we revamp the calendar.

Here are some ways I feel we can over haul our calendar to gear ourselves up for the 21st century. Of course, we should already be geared up because we have entered the second decade...

First, we need to change our school hours to reflect the working day of most parents. Should this be 9 - 5 or 8:30 - 4:30? I am not sure because every community is different. Many students spend at least 2 hours unsupervised at home each day. Doesn't it make sense to have students get home from school about the same time as their parents. This is such a simple solution to the big problem of juvenile deliquency, that it probably won't ever get done.

Why? It makes too much sense.  Of course, the biggest argument you hear against  is that athletic practices would be too late into the evening. Take a look at the percentage of students who are athletes in your school - should we really have such a small percentage of people dictating our the course of our school day? 

After doing a little research and reflection, I also believe that students should go to school Monday - Thursday  leaving Fridays open for teacher planning days. Many teachers attend worthwhile conferences but, must miss class to do so. Having a fifth day each week would allow teachers to create lessons, collaborate with their peers, attend conferences and meet with parents. During these tough economic times, a few northern school systems have tried this with great success. They are finding that test scores are soaring! Again, another so simple solution, that it probably won't get done

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Finally, we need to recreate our calendar. Why are students off all summer? Parents must scramble to find summer day care sometimes at enormous expense. Students should have short breaks between each grading period and longer breaks between semesters. For example, a week off between each nine weeks grading period and then 2 - 3 weeks for Christmas and 3 - 4 weeks in the middle of summer. Think of this as what my English teacher used to call the "let it jell" period. Kids need time for their brains to process all the new information they are collecting.

Will any of this ever get done? I doubt it. But, at least we can ponder the possibilities.