When was the last time school got canceled and you got to spend time with your family all because of a snow day? When it snows and school is canceled, students and teachers around the U.S. get to spend time relaxing and having fun. However, with a new program in sight, things are about to change. The articles “School on Snow Days” and “No More Snow Days?” describe programs called e-days. E-days are programs that help ease pressure on school planning, save money, and reduce the risk of learning setbacks. Through the years, e-days have gradually moved from college to lower grades. When it snows, elementary, middle, and high school students are assigned educational work on this pilot program. E-days have many benefits, but the benefits of not having e-days outweighs it. E-days should not be used because they are not convenient to some people, students cannot communicate with teachers, and e-days plainly ruin a perfect day with the family. E-days are not expedient for some people. People with no Internet access will find e-days a great …show more content…
When it snows, family members are stuck in too, resulting in bonding both indoors and outdoors. Snow days provide a time of reunion but e-days prevent this and do not. For instance, in “School on Snowy Days”, the author declares, “ ‘Sometimes, students on snow days aren't staying (home). They may be going to a daycare or an aunt's house that may or may not have [Internet access],’ said Jennifer Wright, assistant superintendent for Grant County Public Schools.” These statements demonstrate that without e-days to interfere, family relationships can get stronger. Snow days provide time for family bonding, but during e-days, students are coped up by the computer working their brains off. Therefore, e-days should not be used. Because they are not convenient, students are cut off of student teacher interaction, and e-days mess up a day of family fun and
Family vacations, pool memberships, and corn de-tasseling; these have been the experiences of traditional Midwestern summers. For centuries young American children have attended school during the winter months, during farming off seasons when their families could afford to be without them. Families have grown accustomed to a traditional school calendar that provides time for bonding throughout the year. Students have grown accustomed to an eight week break during the summer months where they are allowed to refresh their minds before returning for a new school year. Unfortunately, these traditional experiences and practices are now in jeopardy. In today’s race to improve student achievement, traditional school calendars have become a point of contention. Today more and more school districts and parents alike have begun to debate the pros and cons of an alternative school calendar.
Dixon, A. (2011). Focus on the alternative school calendar: year-round school programs and update on the four-day school week. Retrieved from Southern Regional Education Board website: http://publications.sreb.org/2011/11S01_Alt_Cal.pdf
In the short essay, “Let It Snow,” by David Sedaris, he recounts the memory of his three sisters and himself being locked out of the house by their drunken mother, on a cold, snowy day. The children are very antagonistic towards their mother, and are willing to do whatever it takes to get the attention they deserve. When is comes down to it, the children realize that no matter how bad they treat their loved ones, They will always have a place for family in their heart.
Do you know that, in order to complete a year of school in the events of a snow day we have to go to the thirtieth of June? We have had about nine snow days which means the last day of school would be the twentieth of June with more snow storms scheduled in the future. Since this would be last day of school, this means we have only approximately two months of summer vacation until school starts again. The snow days should not be made up because, it would interfere with people’s summer plans, our summer needs to be longer and transportational issues.
The United States has a long and proud history of providing public education to its citizen’s children. The fundamental idea behind the creation of this educational system was that it be available to all, regardless of geographical location or family status. In the era that this initiative was generated many of America’s families lived and worked on farms, and children were a vital part of this lifestyle. The founders of the United States’ public schools had to create a plan that included all children, even those who were expected to perform agricultural work in the harvest season. Thus, the nine-month school calendar was brought into use, allowing farming children a three month break from school in the summer to aid their families in the crop yield. In time, youth participation in farming became outdated and obsolete, and this arrangement slipped from necessity to simply being a tradition held on to through the years. In our modern era, a year-round school calendar would benefit the teachers, students, and finances of America’s public schools.
Have you ever began a book only to find that after a few chapters into it a more important task comes up that must be given attention to and you don’t make it back to the book for some time. The ensuing matter has been taken care of and now it is time to finish that novel that thought was so great you just couldn’t put it down but, where did you exactly leave off and what character are doing what now? Often it is required to skim a few previous chapters to get a sense of what is going on to give the full focus to the new events taking place. As the summer ends, the leaves begin to change and our school children return to the classroom to begin this very similar task. Instead of rereading a few pages, teachers must review with every student were they are scholastically and every student is very different. Almost a month into the new school year last year’s material is covered and reviewed. Our traditional school calendar may be to blame for our failing schools systems. Can schools attending year round with smaller gaps of time off from learning benefit the student learners? Better retention of material, higher graduation with college enrollment increases and safer downtime alternatives are a few reasons why the traditional education plan should be done away with.
While growing up, I attended a traditional school. This is a schooling method many individuals are probably familiar with. A student attends school for nine months out of the year, and then has a three month break during the summer. However, in my immediate hometown surroundings, nearby traditional schools are assessing the idea of transforming into year-round schools. Year round schooling is one subject debated in high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools nationwide. Are schools that operate 365 days a year academically better than traditional schools? What are the cost differences between the two? How would a year-round school effect families? Changing the schooling technique from traditional to year-round has numerous variables that need to be taken into consideration before any grade school or secondary education institution fully commits. Year-round schooling schedules should not be implemented and traditional schooling calendars should be maintained.
The BC Ministry of Education recently allowed for flexibility in how school districts choose to organize their school calendars. BC School Districts currently follow a traditional school year calendar with students attending school approximately 190 days, most with a two week break in winter and spring and two months off during the summer months. “This model was very practical when the school calendar was designed to accommodate children with the needs of an agricultural economy” (qtd in Webb 5), and can be “described by some as outdated and irrelevant in today’s society” (Winter 401). A balanced school year calendar, also referred to as a modified school year and year round school, would maintain the same number of instructional days, but would evenly distribute breaks throughout the year. The literature and research available on the balanced school year is mostly American, with a few Canadian sources. This research indicates that those in support of this type of calendar see many benefits, but the most strongly supported with evidence is the reduction of summer learning loss experienced by students, especially for English as a second language (ESL) and low income students. For those who oppose the balanced school year, some believe summer learning loss does not exist and some strongly argue that changing the school calendar is only warranted with proof of increased academic achievement for students.
Back in the olden days, schools were originally put on a schedule in which students would spend the majority of the year in school, and 2-3 months off for summer break. The purpose of this was so that children could be home for the summer to help their parents run family farms. Today, due to progressive industrialization of farming, modernized farming equipment, and decrease in family farms, the need for children to be home during the summer to help run family farms is minute if not obsolete; because of this many schools across the United States have transitioned to year-round schooling (“Summer”). Contrary to belief, year round schooling does not usually mean more school days. Currently most year-round schools adhere to the 180 day school year. Instead of the traditional lengthy summer vacation, year-round schools distribute the 180 days throughout the entire year while allowing for shorter breaks. Common scheduling for year-round schools includes cycles of 2-3 months in school followed by 2-3 week breaks (“Research Spotlight...
School is usually a huge part of every child’s daily agenda. Teenagers in high school basically dedicate their entire day to school and homework. Students in grade 8 are similarly going through the same process as high school students. As students work 2 months after the Winter Break, some of them tend to start reducing their quality of work. When we’re tired of doing school work for two straight months, why should we only receive a short March break?
Students now have the opportunity to work another day to save for their future. The four-day school week also provides much more time for these children to spend and enjoy time with friends, and family, as well as enjoying extracurricular activities. There is a lovely environment for the children at the school and an extra day for the instructors to gain knowledge and a better understanding of their curriculum. The schools will be saving a varying amount of money that could be used in case of an emergency with money of any kind. Whether it is an emergency funding program, or money to fund an extracurricular activity. In conclusion, the four-day school week has proven itself to be a very effective form of education that Colby Public Schools most certainly should switch to within the coming
There are many advantages to year round schooling. The two major advantages for year round schooling is the elimination or reduction in learning loss during summer breaks and improvement of student achievement. Winter, also stated other advantages such as attendance in school, reduction in drop out rate, student attitudes, and teacher attitudes. Less absenteeism by both teachers and students.The students attitudes were more positive to school and learni...
Shortly, we became more industrialized and had more advanced technology which made the summer vacation that was so crucial to the survival of the family now purposeless. With these long summer breaks, it can affect a child’s learning in so many ways. According to the benefits of year-round education article,”As of the 2006-2007 school year, nearly 2,800 U.S. schools were classified as year round.” One essential problem with long summer breaks is lack of retention of learned material and can lead to the student not being able to make progress with their learning in the next school year. In year-round schools, kids don’t waste time on review as opposed to traditional schools who take about three weeks reviewing the information they learned in the
... Year-Round Schools. Ed. Adriane Ruggiero. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 May 2014.
Conflict is energy, conflict is excitement, conflict is often driven by a passion that is necessary to progression. In other words, we need many of the characteristics that might cause conflict and conflict itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The important thing is learning how to manage