By Tamara Scheffler

Alexandria resident

I’ve never been one to involve myself with political issues but after hearing about recent plans to lengthen the school day and year, I became involved.

At the risk of sounding like an old expression, I’m going to start off with this statement: It’s not the length of time children spend in school, it’s how that time is spent. They (Obama, government, whoever) are so concerned with test scores and keeping up with other countries that they are forgetting what really matters in all this. Our children! Is extending the time spent in school really the solution? Will that magically make our children as smart as Japan’s, for example? I don’t believe so. Is putting the children through endless testing such as ISTEP, the answer either? My answer is NO.

We need to refocus and look at what we are teaching our students and the methods we are using. Shouldn’t we as teachers be planning our lessons and using methods that fit the child’s needs, instead of the other way around? Shouldn’t we as parents want our children to succeed and do well in life their own way instead of being pushed to fit somebody else’s term of succeeding? Children are being asked so much of them already and it’s increasing at a rapid pace and a younger age. With all the expectations that are put on them, many children experience feelings of stress and anxiety to keep up and then if they can’t they can feel depressed and feelings of inadequacy can take place, which can unfortunately lead to traumatic situations. Children as young as elementary are having these feelings daily.

As a parent I cherish my evenings with my children after a long day at work. I also love my summers with them and I’m sure they love the break also. I encourage them to be themselves and do your best in whatever they choose to do in life. As a teacher I realize that sometimes we don’t have a choice in what we teach. It’s decided for us by the government or those who hold the power. I do however, feel that we can alter our style to fit our children. Use methods that work for us and them. Realize that they are children and not push them so much that we end up pushing them the wrong direction. These children are the future adults — the ones who will be making the decisions for us someday. They need to be accepted for who they are and not tried to be made into what we want them to be. That’s just my opinion though.