Panel Favors Extended View of Learning

The nation needs to rethink its assumptions and policies on when, where, and how children learn, contends a report issued last week by the Time, Learning and Afterschool Task Force, a national panel, financed by the Flint, Mich.-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

The report, titled "A New Day for Learning," highlights innovative programs and community efforts that incorporate afterschool programs, extended days, mentoring, and student internships into the way educators conceive of time, learning, and the school day and year. It calls for creating a learning system that goes far beyond schools to help meet educational goals and prepare young people for the workforce, and proposes redesigning childhood education with these five elements at the forefront:

• A redefinition of student success.

• The use of knowledge about how students learn best throughout the day, early to late, and year-round.

• Integrating various approaches to acquiring and reinforcing knowledge.

• Intentional collaboration across local, state, and national sectors.

• New leadership and professional development opportunities.

"We are not getting very far, very fast because we persist in placing all the responsibility for teaching on the schools and on a short school day," the report says. "Without a broader view of learning, all American school-age children will be denied access to experiences that will help them be successful lifelong learners."

The full Education Week article by Laura Greifner is available at: http://enews.edweek.org/GoNow/a15864a160172a303490268a0