Barack Obama has called for a longer school year in the U.S. amid fears the American education system has lost its global edge.
The President also said that the worst-performing teachers in the system have ‘got to go’.
And he declared that simply throwing money at schools is not enough to fix the problem. Instead, he said in an interview broadcast across America this morning, teachers and students alike must set and achieve a higher standard.
Mr Obama was trying to reinvigorate his administration’s education programme in an interview with NBC’s Today show host Matt Lauer this morning.
Asked if he supported a year-round school year, Mr Obama said: ‘The idea of a longer school year, I think, makes sense.’
He did not specify how long that school year should be but said U.S. students attend classes, on average, about a month less than children in most other advanced countries.
‘That month makes a difference,’ the President said.
