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Show r V. 4 w1- asm'W ' ?v-'- ;' i.j- '. ',, Vj-.- ,v Page 3A North Edition Lakeside Review Wednesday, September 14, 1983 Editorial School Board Gets D on First Grade Schedule Give the Davis County School Board a B for good intentions and a D for scientific experiI , ' ' mentation techniques. The Davis County School Board has proven itself to be a well-ru- n and organized public body. But in the case of the shorter school day for first grade students, the board has acted less than professionally. Last year, the school district allowed some the program for personal benefit. Students who ride .buses often must remain at school until children in higher grades are dismissed. i Is there an account of what the teacher has prepared? Does elementary schools in the county to dismiss first graders 40 minutes early each day. The theory was that first grade teachers need the extra time for better preparation and the young students would get a better view of school if they didnt have to suffer through a full day. Teachers of first graders, say the attention span of the children is too short to enable them to continue learning for the full day. It was the intention of the school board to have a study of the program completed after the first grade students were through the second grade. At that time, the board felt that testing would have show how beneficial the program was for the children. Biit the board miist have forgotten the basics of experimentation. A scientist will proceed with a set guideline of what he is looking for and the exact way in which he will attempt the experiment. A scientist also has some idea of what he will find. Along with the experiment, the scientist will also have a conhis trol group to ; ' cross-referenc- ; , e results. But instead of a well defined program, the school board has created chaos. It can be assumed that little have a hard time foattention during the their cusing entire school day. It can, be equally assumed that the extra preparation time spent by the first grade teachers, if used correctly, could be highly beneficial to the students. all the good underlining reasons for the shortened day are lost due to inefficient planning, unclear goals and lack of communication from the school board. Even school board members have shown confusion among themselves concerning how the program should be developed. The program has not been consistently implemented. Some schools have the shortened first grade all school year and others for only half the year. Some dont have the program at all. It appears few parents had the shorter day system explained to them. Many parents felt that it was only to be a short term experiment. They were surprised when they found out that the program would continue for another year. It should be obvious to the school board that the parents would want to have a clear un- derstanding of the program prior to it being instigated. The parents are, of course, directly related to their childs welfare. v They have to pick up the child from school or reserve center more time at the to ensure the safety of their , ; ; -, , ; day-ca- child. re ' The idea of the shortened day isnt as simple as changing a text book. Parents have to work out the carpools. Parents need to work out a new day care schedule. ' Parents have the ultimate responsibility for the safety of their children, but the school board didnt take the parents feelings into consideration until the outcry was loud. . Now Board President Sheryl Allen wants to Know how the, parents feel about the program. study Why wasnt an done before the program started? The board has also left it up ,, to the individual schools wheth-e- r o? not they want tp partici- pate in the program. Such hit and miss tactics only added to the confusion and underline the basic lack of goals set by the " board. . In addition, the board has no . guidelines as to what the teachers who have the extra hour must do. What prevents them from going home, shopping or golfing after parents pick up their children? The majority of teachers are responsible, but there is an opportunity to take advantage' of , th the teacher have the right to do her preparation at home or should it be done in the classroom? How much preparation' time is really necessary? , The program is also discriminatory towards teachers who are at higher grade levels who are not allowed the extra preparation time. There is little evidence gained from this type of study. How can the board hope to get some viable results if no game plan is first set out. How seriously has the board looked into alternatives to the tired and bored first grader? Maybe an excellent physical education or arts and crafts class would reawaken the student. Due to lack of guidelines set out at the beginning of the program, and the lack of communication made with the parents, any information gathered by the school board on the shorter day will lack credibility. |