There were two sentences in the op-ed about lengthening school days ("Learning longer, learning better," Dec. 15) that triggered ideas that I have long thought about but only communicated to relatives and close friends.
"The next day those students are ready to assist their classmates who need extra help. They feel the pride and responsibility of being classroom leaders."
My education started in a rural one-room school and, after moving, progressed to a school with two or three grades to a room. I learned by hearing the lessons presented to grades ahead of me and had it reinforced when I heard it again in my grade and the one that followed.
More importantly, I was able to learn in the best way that suited me and could help others in whatever grade. I didn't find myself comparing my progress with my age group but could see how much there is to learn.
Which brings me to my main point: I think schools should be set up as a group of "one-room" schools (maybe not eight grades) where students are put together by how they best learn (visual, aural, manual, whatever). This would have the advantages I had, but much better. The school would have many adjunct resources not available to me. Also, we now know more about, and can identify, the different ways of learning. We can then match teachers and students instead of having a random mix. The students can be encouraged to help other students as the best way to learn is to teach.
I would like to see an experiment with this idea, but it can't be just some graduate student project. It has to be — at some risk — a whole school with the plan and probably years of tweaking.
Richard Angerer, Cockeysville