WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama started the school week with a call for a longer school year and said the worst-performing teachers have “got to go” if they don’t improve quickly.
Also on Monday, the president announced a goal of recruiting 10,000 teachers who work in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) over the next two years. In a statement, Obama said such education is vital to allowing students to compete against their peers in today’s economy.
“When I came into office, I set a goal of moving our nation from the middle to the top of the pack in math and science education,” Obama said in a statement. “Strengthening STEM education is vital to preparing our students to compete in the 21st century economy and we need to recruit and train math and science teachers to support our nation’s students.”
Bemoaning America’s decreasing global educational competitiveness, Obama sought in a nationally broadcast interview with NBC “Today” show host Matt Lauer to highlight his education agenda. At the same time, the president acknowledged that many poor schools do not have the money they need and he defended federal aid for them. But Obama also said that money alone won’t fix the problems in public schools, saying higher standards must be set and achieved by students and teachers alike.
Asked in an interview if he supported a year-round school year, Obama said: “The idea of a longer school year, I think, makes sense.” He did not specify how long that school year should be but said U.S. students attend classes, on average, about a month less than children in most other advanced countries.
“That month makes a difference,” the president said. “It means that kids are losing a lot of what they learn during the school year during the summer. It’s especially severe for poorer kids who may not see as many books in the house during the summers, aren’t getting as many educational opportunities.”
The Education Commission of the States reported last year that U.S. schools through the high school level offer an average of 180 instruction days per year, compared to an average of 197 days for lower grades and 196 days for upper grades in countries with the best student achievement levels, including Japan, Korea, Germany and New Zealand.
