Summer vacation. For most children and teens, the phrase conjures up images of hot, sunny days and vacations with the whole family to far-off places. We all envision lazy afternoons relaxing on the beach, playing in water parks, and going on picnics. But what happens when summer ends and the reality of another year of school sinks in?
A large portion of the knowledge gained during the last school year is lost over the long idle months and must be retaught for weeks, which wastes a lot of time that could be spent learning new material. This puts students behind in that year’s curriculum, and over many summers, can add up to students being months or years behind where they would be if no learning was lost. There is a solution to this problem, however: year-round school. Year-round school provides many advantages for both students and adults over the traditional summer vacation schedule.
The most important advantage of year-round school is that it helps students retain knowledge. Learning lost during the summer is a big problem. Proponents of year-round school assert that having shorter breaks would reduce learning loss because the students couldn’t forget as much over a shorter period of time. Detractors often say that there have been no reputable studies supporting this. It is true that many studies had somewhat faulty methodologies, failing to account for other variables that could have affected performance, like socioeconomic level or level of parental education (1). However, two major meta-analyses, by Worthen and Zsiray (1994) and Cooper, Valentine, Charlton, and Melson (2003), found support for the assertion that “Students in year-round schools do as well or slightly better in terms of academic achievement than students ...
... middle of paper ...
...ities. It would also help students by keeping them engaged and focused before and after breaks. Considering all the gains to be made from year-round school, perhaps it is time to give up the long, sweltering three months of summer break and receive shorter and more frequent ones that benefit everyone in the school. I know I wouldn’t miss them.
Works Cited
Bemis, Amy E, and Elisabeth A Palmer. “Year-Round Education.” Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement. University of Minnesota, 1998. Web. 31 May 2010. PDF file.
Huebner, Tracy A. "Year-Round Schooling." Educational Leadership 67.7 (2010): 83-84. Professional Development Collection. EBSCO. Web. 27 May 2010.
St. Gerard, Vanessa. "Year-Round Schools Look Better All the Time." Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review 72.8 (2007): 56-58. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 27 May 2010.
Pearson, A. (n.d.). Year-Round School Advantages & Disadvantages. Education. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://education.seattlepi.com/yearround-school-advantages-disadvantages-2521.html
The summer vacation students on a traditional schedule receive could be very beneficial since summer gives time for the students to attend camps or other activities that would allow them to learn. The camp may not be like the learning in school, but students would be able to get a different style of education while having fun. Lynn-nore Chittom and Jeff Klassen, two authors who wrote about year-round vs. traditional schooling say,
adaptations need to be made back to the year-round school. If society has continuously adapted
The founders of the American public school system had a dream that all of America’s youth would have the opportunity to attend school in the best way possible for the times. The educational leaders of today must take up the same mission of providing the best school system imaginable for our modern era. Yearlong education is the solution to many problems that plague teachers, students, and school budgets.
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.
"Summer school? Should schools be in session year-round?" Know Your World Extra 18 Apr. 2008. General OneFile. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
Throughout time education has been considered a process that every so often must be improved. The education quality in the U.S. has declined over the years and people have been looking for a way to make improvements. A more recent proposal has been to go from a traditional nine-month schedule to an all year program. Supporters of year round school claim it gives the student a better education. However, the prospect of year round school is not beneficial to the taxpayers pocket, to the education a student receives, or to the people involved with the district.
One benefit of the year round schooling is that there can be an overlap of s...
For years, parents and educators have debated the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional school calendar, which has long summer vacations for all students.The longer you are away from school, the more you lose what you learned in the previous year. Studies have shown that children who know English as a second language benefit the most from year-round education because during the long summer break, they may not hear English for several months. Long summer breaks is a problem for traditional schools and the solution is to substitute traditional schools for year-round schools.
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.
In the United States, most schools still use a ten-month calendar that was developed when our country’s students needed school off to help with harvesting (Palmer). Trimble Local Schools Superintendent Kim Jones says, “year-round schooling is the notion of getting away from the old agrarian calendar...which was formed up around the planting season. Students were out of school from April until harvest to work in the fields,” (qtd. in Hapka). Under the agrarian system, most United States students are in school for nine to ten months, and get a two- to three- month summer vacation. However, the United States is no longer an agricultural-based society, and students have no need to take a three-month-long, unnecessary, not to mention disruptive break during the summer months; instead, the United States should switch the school systems to a year-round calendar.
...on what they have learned by attending more days in school but not getting burned out on a traditional nine month school schedule. A few short breaks allows the mind to rest but not forget everything they have worked hard to achieve educational greatness. American society will achieve great things if the education system takes a step in all schools operating on a year round calendar.
Saunders, M. (2004, September 7). Try year-round school: The lazy days of summer may hurt children who struggle in school the rest of the time. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, pp. 14A, Retrieved November 6, 2004, from Lexus-Nexus.
Silva, Elena. "Revising the Current School Calendar Has Many Implications." Year-Round Schools. (2007). 1-9. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Day or School Year: A Systematic Review of Research." Sage 80.3 (2010): 401- 36. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.