American school children spend less time at school than pupils in other industrialized countries. According to American President Barack Obama, this should change. He notes that, because of a longer summer vacation, American children forget a lot of what they learn over the year.Not all Americans are in favour of this idea, especially pupils who would like to have a long summer vacation. Teachers would have to work longer and the tourist industry would suffer from a shorter summer break.
A research conducted on schools nationwide show
that private institutions that keep their pupils in school longer get
better results than others, especially inner city schools.Some school districts have already followed Obama's suggestion and are offering courses and other activities during the summer holidays. On the other side there are many schools that have cut their summer programs because they do not have enough money.
The research paper has also showed that Americans are falling behind in fields like science and mathematics, where they were once number one in the world. Today America ranks 21st in the world of science and 25th in maths.
President Obama also made an appeal to parents. They should check and see if children do their homework and motivate their children to learn
