A worldwide parental plight
The plight of the American working parent is a familiar one around the world, and countries have tried to address it to varying degrees. The UK has similar parameters on its school year and day - students attend school for 190 days per year and days generally run from 9:00 to 15:00. But like the US, schools generally don't provide free after-school care, leaving parent similarly scrambling for options. In Germany, students attend school for a brief five-hour day that begins around 8:00 and ends around 13:00. French students, who only attend school for 162 days a year, have a day that closely mirrors the French workday. They're in school from roughly 8:30 to 16:30, but get two breaks and a lunch period that lasts at least an hour and half. In both countries, nation subsidies help to pay for before- or after-school care available to most parents. Both also offer substantially more vacation time than either the US or UK. The European experience offers a sharp contrast to some Asian countries, where students spend much more time in school. School is in session in China from September to mid-July for a whopping 245 days per year. Their school days run long, from 7:30 to 17:00, but have a long two-hour lunch break in the middle. Parents, too, work long days, and care for children after-school historically fell to grandparents. These days, parents increasingly pay for expensive after-school tutoring to give their children an academic edge on their peers. The correlation between school day length and students' productivity is a tenuous one. China outperformed the US and European countries on an international assessment of students' science, maths, and reading, but not by much.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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