Abbe Golden South Bend schools' justification for adding 40 minutes to the teacher’s school day begins with “and studies show.” A major educational movement in the late 1960s and '70s began the same way. It was called open concept. School systems all over this country jumped on the bandwagon including South Bend. It was believed that it would improve math and reading for students. It did not. And even though the administration has scaled back the proposal from four days to two days I contend that it remains an ill-conceived idea. Studies in and of themselves are not bad. In fact, they can provide good information if used correctly. The problem in education is that we jump on the bandwagon without looking at the studies with a critical eye. And we definitely don’t look at how that information would work in the here and now. How is what’s happening now going to affect what you do and your outcomes? I contend that adding 40 minutes is not going to increase reading and math scores any more than open concept did.