back to school today

"Do you think school should actually be 6-7 hours long?

I mean yeah, i definitely think we need school, but 6-7 hours long?? It seems a little steep to me! I think the teachers could shorten their classes. Please share your thoughts and opinions!" Yahoo questions

A new friend was amazed when I told her that Will finishes all his schoolwork for 5th grade in less than 3 hours a day and that Mary typically took about 90 minutes to complete her 4th grade assignments. They don't have homework and still manage to get all A's on their report cards from Seton and score in the 85-99% percentile on the CAT. Of course they don't spend the rest of their day staring at a screen or eating, we do lots of educational things the rest of the day. I just don't consider that "school". But they are certainly not trapped in a stuffy and germy room with only kids their own age who seem to want to only "teach" each other what is hip and who is cool.

I am a firm believer in small doses of information with lots of repetition. Haven't we all heard of younger children learning prayers, arithmetic facts, and historical tidbits just from absorbing what they have heard every day from their parents and siblings?

Of course the above questioner seems to think that teachers have control over such issues as how long classes are held. They are just as trapped as the children, not even able to use the facilities if they need to. I think of homeschooling as a much more child-friendly educational system that allows children to play and learn, not just be trapped in a cinderblock box for most of their day.