For so many years " Summer Break" has been part of out lexicon in America that the very idea of year-round school is so outlandish as to seem as laughable as America and Russia being trade partners. Oh, wait, we are. Why is that? Because times change, folks.
The break during the summer existed not to allow theme parks to hire our teens and families to revel to Disney World, but to allow the (in the Mid-Nineteenth Century) largely agrarian society of the United States to make use of its children as free labor in a work force needed to plant crops and get things ready for the fall harvest. Later, schools in the southern region needed the break because air-conditioning was a luxury most didn't have.
But, now we're over a decade into the Twenty-First Century...kids aren't helping plant family farms and most schools have some kind of air conditioning. Those things being true, perhaps it's time some localities (most, perhaps) start thinking about year-round school (see the linked article). I mean, there's no harm in considering the benefits, right? Teachers no longer have to spend their first few days or weeks finding out what concepts have been lost over the summer and then reteaching those concepts in sort of a reverse cramming session as the prior knowledge that has been lost is rebuilt. The fluidity of the attainment of concepts and their mastery can also be more effectively aligned in a year round setting, at least it is for me when I'm reading a book or trying something new, I'm better off if I stick to it until I master it, not if I arbitrarily stop what I'm doing because I've hit a magic date that indicates a deadline has been reached.
Economics and vacations play roles here, too. You want a cheaper vacation rental? Well, yeah, who doesn't? If you have year-round school, you get an extended break more than twice a year and that means you have a chance to get a better rate at the beach or mountains or whatever because you're going to rent during the " off season." How about vacations? When I was in college, my folks took us to Disney World one more time as a family. It was Christmas when we were down there and there seemed to be more than a few people down there who, like my parents, wanted to see blinking lights on Palm trees during their Yuletide. After several hours of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with people of questionable hygienic practices, I asked one of the ladies at the monorail station at the main entrance/exit of the Magic Kingdom what the best time of year was for a visit to Mr. Disney's testament to America's love of make believe and six dollar hot dogs. Without missing a beat she told me it was around President's Day. A more sub-tier holiday I can't imagine, except maybe Arbor Day. But, my point here...if you're looking for a good time to go on vacation, how about a time when most people have their kids in school and can't go away? I mean, that's just a side benefit to the idea.
Now, I know I'm going to make some of my peers less than thrilled here, but teachers may be some of the most vocal in opposing year-round school (like the atricle cites at the opening of the blog states, teachers and administrators who don't like the year-round schedule can request a transfer). If teachers balk at the idea of year-round because it messes with their summer, then I must be frank in saying that perhaps those teachers are the ones who give credence to the old joke that teachers' only teach because of their three favorite things, which are, "June, July, and August."
Now, lastly, I'll say this, when I was getting my Masters I was in a cohort with some folks who worked at a year-round elementary school. They loved it. The kids there loved it, and so did the parents. And, what impressed me the most was that the school (the only one one the county with a year-round schedule) had the highest SOL scores in the division each and every year that I kept up with my cohort s in the program. That's the most important thing, isn't it? When you're a school, the most important thing is student achievement...and it was high in this system's school with the year-round schedule.
You can draw any conclusion you want to if you spin enough data, but it seems to be that when I stop trying to find a spin, I see just a positive result, and that's the bottom line for me.
The wagon rolls on...thanks for riding shotgun.
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