President Barack Obama (pictured with Education Secretary Arne Duncan at his address to the nation’s school children earlier this month) says American children spend too little time in school which puts them at a disadvantage with others around the world.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Duncan said, “Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today.” The Presidents wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let kids in on weekends so they have a safe place to go.

“Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas. Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom,” the President said earlier this year.

NY Governor David Paterson said Sunday on Meet the Press that President Barack Obama never directly asked him to step aside, and he refused to discuss what presidential aides had told him confidentially.

Paterson, the state’s first black governor who’s also legally blind, said he’s heard the message from Democrats in New York and Washington: “I’m blind, I’m not oblivious. But I am running for governor. I don’t think I am a drag on the party. I think I’m fighting for the priorities of my party.”

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