New York State is one of five states that are adding 300 hours of learning time to the calendar for some schools next year. The other states participating are Colorado, Connecticut , Massachusetts and Tennessee. The three year pilot program is intended to boost student achievement. The decision to add more time to the current school day or extend the school year will be made at the local levels of the schools participating.
  As I read through the information about this initiative I thought about a book that I read to children each year here at Hamagrael Elementary titled  " A Fine, Fine School "  by Sharon Creech. The elementary school principal in the book, Mr. Keene, loved his school and thought that since he loved school so much and had a wonderful staff and group of students that they should have school every day all year long, summers included. The students and staff didn't want to let down Mr. Keene so they went along with his plan until one day a girl named Tille went to see Mr. Keene and explained that learning just doesn't take place in school. You can learn while on a family walk, playing with siblings, playing games with neighborhood kids, or just reading under a tree. In the end, Mr. Keene realized that we all learn in many different ways and saw the importance of having breaks from  the regular school day and school was returned to normal once again and the children continued to learn.
  As a principal and father of three I see how hard the children work here and also the amount of time my own spend on assignments  outside of school. I think that maybe we are pushing kids too hard now . They should take time to be kids  and enjoy this time of their life as it truly goes by way too quickly.  It is my hope that the individuals who are placing this mandate on our schools take the time to read Sharon Creech's book, they may find it interesting.