RE: Longer Day/ Longer Year

THe parent who expressed concern about "movies" and wasted time is absolutely right. These types of practices are very common and rightful areas for grave concern. Time flow studies would be very revealing. I'm not suggesting money be spent to prove the amount of time wasted is astronomical. I'm suggesting we have and implement policies and procedures that will preclude these practices. We know bad practices occur. SOme of them would be so easy to remedy. (Policies exist in many cases. They just aren't followed. Administrators don't enforce them.) 
For example, as an educator, I am very concerned about the role  attendance, including tardiness, plays in the success of a child's education. I find it very confusing that there is a bell called the "tardy bell," but there is no definitive, uniform, consistent policy and procedure that is articulated in regards to it. Children who are two to three minutes tardy rob themselves and the other students. It may sound insignificant, but this is only one of many, many ways in which time is wasted in our schools. The accumulative results of wasted time play a significant negative role in education.