Community Chat

[Mominohio]

The thread about school supplies got me thinking about the upcoming school year. My cousin teaches special education in a public school system here in Ohio. My son now attends public high school, but was in a small private school through 8th grade. Here in Ohio, most schools still do the summer vacation thing, with most schools out by the last of May or the first week of June, and they return anywhere from late August to after Labor Day.

While this can be quite a hot topic, lets see why people prefer one way or the other. My cousin wishes there was year round school here, and I do not. She thinks it would allow her more time off during other seasons of the year to do things she wants to do, as well as keep kids more focused.

The main reasons I believe in summers off are

Kids need to be kids. They need to play outside, swim, catch lightning bugs, go camping, take family vacations, etc. They have only one childhood and need to enjoy it.

Older kids need to work. Not just for money (as I think they should be paying for their own cars, gas, insurance, and spending money), but for experience in the work world, and to help them decide the what they want to do as far as education/work after high school. While many kids do work during the school year, many don't (not as many as when I was in school) because high school is now harder and more competitive. Many kids are taking college courses while in high school, and grades do come first. How are they going to work and earn money with the on so many weeks and off a couple all year long?

The main reason I've heard that people support year round school are

Kids don't retain over the summer, and there is too much review time at the beginning of the new year. I say if your kid isn't learning during the summer, you aren't doing your job as a parent. I always required lots of reading, trips revolved around educational and historical topics, and learning isn't confined to teachers and classrooms (think learning to cook, sew, fix a car, garden and can, raise animals for the fair etc.). If your kid doesn't retain or gain during the summer, it is mostly lazy parenting.

People will quote one study after another statistic about kids performance increasing with year around school, but kids and people are more than just their IQ and test scores. There is valuable learning to be done through other people and other institutions, outside the realm of the classroom, and it is parents responsibility to see it gets done.

So weigh in. And tell why you believe the way you do.

[Still Raining]

Yes, something more approaching year-round would approximate what real life is like. Maybe a system with a summer big break and then two smaller breaks at Christmas and spring. This is done in some other countries.

[bells4me]

I retired from the public school system in So California in 2007. The district I worked for was just about the only one in my area who did not have year around school. It still doesn't.

[brii]

Nay.

There are only a few weeks out of the summer that they aren't involved in something related to either school or sports, as it is.

Maybe the pace wouldn't be so chaotic if it was spread out over a longer time period - I don't know.

[chrystaltree]

What? You think the USA should wake up and join the modern world?

[colliegirls]

I have passed up schools for my children who are on a year round schedule. Being out in the summer is the only thing we look forward to all school year!

[sunshine45]

i am definitely for year round school. it doesnt happen in our area and i only have one left in high school, but i think it would have benefited them quite a bit. there is too much unproductive time during the summer. kids can work year round. shorter breaks throughout the year would be so much better.

[JustJules]

I experienced both types of schools growing up. I was in a year around system through 4th grade, then we moved to a different district and it was the traditional summer off system. I liked both, I think the year around system worked well for me when I was a young child. We had 3 different "tracks" A track, B track and C track and they would rotate as to when each track would be on vacation while the other two stayed in school session. It worked for my family because we could take trips throughout the year and it gave kids a break rather than having to endure a long school semester. The only bummer was when some of your friends were on a different track and then you didn't have the same vacation time off together. When I started middle school and then they transitioned it into a jr. high school, we were on the traditional school year with summer off schedule and that worked well too. I think there are pros and cons to both systems. I wouldn't want to be in high school and be on a year around system, it doesn't seem practical for some classes that progress throughout the semester and to break up that learning process would be distracting. JMO

[deepwaterdotter]

I live in a state that is tourist-oriented from Memorial Day until Labor Day. Much of the labor utilized in these attractions and supporting services is provided by high-school students. I doubt the business lobbies would support a year-round school year for this reason.

[kinda silly]

We all had summers off and now we expect our children and grandchildren to attend during the summer? That's not kosher. Why make life more difficult than it already is for them?