Kamala Harris wants to ‘modernize’ school with 10-hour days

(Source: flickr)

According to 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, school days are too short and provide a significant burden to working-class families.

Harris is planning to propose a bill that would essentially force schools to stay open from 8 AM until 6 PM, which would allow parents enough time to finish up their workday before picking up their children from school. The current school calendar is bad, according to Harris, for children and parents because it leaves moms and dads scrambling to provide transportation and care for their kids at the end of the education day, as well as all of the days schools take off that the federal government doesn’t recognize. Because of this “misalignment,” parents are having to choose between full-time work and staying home with their own kids. Mother Jones reporter Kara Voght claims that this decision disproportionately affects women, though she says that all working-class families are feeling the financial squeeze of having to pay for childcare.

From Mother Jones:

“That burden typically falls to women, a million of whom work less than full-time in order to keep up with caregiving responsibilities for elementary school-aged children. This hardship is particularly pronounced for low-income mothers and mothers of color, who are the most likely to have unpredictable or inflexible work schedules.”

The average school day is also having a negative impact on the economy, she claims, stating that “the United States loses $55 billion in productivity each year” as a result of parents catering to the school’s schedule.

Harris’ proposal is allegedly shaped by the findings of Catherine Brown, a researcher from the left-leaning Center for American Progress, which suggests that we need to “reimagine school so it’s better for kids and better for families.”

As a means to research her suggested plan of action, Harris reportedly wants to give $5M each to 500 pilot schools to adopt this schedule over the course of five years. This would mean that schools are open from 8 AM until 6 PM, and only close for “weekends, federal holidays, and emergencies.” Following the end of the five-year test run, the Department of Education would release a report on the effects of the proposal on “parental employment, student performance, and teacher retention rates” which will allegedly be used to fine-tune the program, probably for national implementation.

“My mother raised my sister and me while working demanding, long hours,” Harris recalls. “So, I know firsthand that, for many working parents, juggling between school schedules and work schedule is a common cause of stress and financial hardship. But, this does not have to be the case.”

It is worth noting that the academic day would not last longer, but schools would be obliged to supply extra activities for kids whose parents are not able to provide immediate transportation home as the result of their work schedules.

Twitter was quick to respond to this suggestion, with many people thinking that this is a ploy to further indoctrinate children via more time in government-funded schools:

Still, others believe that the policy proposal is the solution they’ve craved for a problem that has gone largely unremarked upon.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles