This is utterly ludicrous. No child needs to spend more time stuck behind a desk. If you can’t teach them what you need in the preceding 6 hours, additional 30 minutes will simply add to the useless torture.
This is exactly what one would do if one wanted children to hate the very idea of reading.
I don’t have a problem with this but only if it’s completely voluntary. But I also wonder if it might be kind of pointless since can’t one simply read school/class materials at home instead?
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You clearly didn’t read the linked article. The focus is kids who didn’t learn to read because they did first and second grade online because of the pandemic. I’m skeptical of the effectiveness of keeping kids in school for extra long days (kids get tired), but I’m pretty sure that asking kids who can’t read to do extra reading at home isn’t going to work.
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These students are in school for 6-7 hours each day already, right? I’m sure it’s possible to find time for extra reading practice within those hours. Let’s say they are learning about France. Well, France can wait they can read.
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Exactly. As it is, the school day is way too long. If they are left in peace more, they’ll even learn to read faster. For instance, Klara taught two of her friends to read during the “quiet time.” They saw her with a book, asked her to read to them, then she started pointing out how she makes words out of letters, and now they are all taking turns to read to each other.
I’d be so happy to see the school day reduced to 3 hours, and the rest go towards play, outside time, unstructured reading / art / physical activity time.
I love it! My older two were reluctant to start reading, and neither of them really got going on their own until 7-8. Which is completely normal, particularly for boys. They both went from their first picture-books about trains and tractors, to reading Harry Potter and technical manuals, in under a year. It is such a wild thing to witness.
But because they are 2.5 years apart, there was this funny in-between stage where the older one could read, and the younger one couldn’t, and over the course of several weeks, they’d sneak off to their room at every opportunity, close the door like they were doing something naughty… but I’d listen and the bigger one was reading Harry Potter books aloud to his brother, who’d then beg for one more chapter. They got through the first four books in this manner. I was completely shocked that my eldest’s voice didn’t give out. I pretended not to notice. No point elbowing in on their fun when they’re doing fine by themselves.
A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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