President Obama’s ongoing discussion this week about education reform hit on some key points about proposed changes to our nation’s school systems.

One issue that immediately received a highlight was the fact that the president said he believed it would make sense to extend the school year.

It was never discussed how long that possible extension could be, but the notion alone is enough fodder for debate.

There’s no question that the United States has fallen behind other nations in terms of public education. Many other advanced nations that perform well simply don’t have the long summer breaks that have become the norm in America.

Students in other nations have a year-round slate of tougher, longer school days, and throughout the year, their schools don’t utilize the same kind of break-heavy schedule that U.S. classrooms seem to embrace.

But the notion of implementing a longer school year was just one point of many ideas aimed at helping America’s struggling education system rebound. There are many other factors that need to be addressed, and we believe those need to be addressed first.

Although Obama says funding can’t cure all of the education systems’ ills, it is a key factor. Schools need the recourses to teach, and more teachers and aides need to be in the classrooms.

It was also suggested that a closer eye be placed on teacher performance, with the most effective teachers being rewarded and the worst-performing teachers being removed. Teachers may say they agree with this idea, but in a union-based world of public education, this looks like a can of worms albeit, one that just may need to be opened.

Until many other aspects of the education system are geared for improvement, looking at longer school years should not be considered. Summer break – usually 12 short weeks – is a healthy and needed break for students and teachers. Besides, an extra summer month of ineffective instruction isn’t going to help many students compete in tomorrow’s global marketplace.