Ring! The clock bell rings on the last day of school, and you are done for the summer! You have over two months to relax in the sun and play on the beach before going back to school. Your family has no problem making vacation plans since it is normal to be out this time of year. Everything is going smoothly, but wait, what if this all changed? An email is sent to all parents and students that attend your school. The email states that the school will now be changing to a year-round schedule, and there will only be one month of summer. Students, teachers, and parents are completely outraged by the audacity the school has to change their precious schedule. The disadvantages of switching to year-round scheduling completely outweigh the advantages. While some may believe otherwise, year round scheduling would be detrimental in a myriad of ways.
To begin, the cost of running school facilities, and paying faculty during the summer is tremendously high. Statistics show that school maintenance cost could increase up to ten percent! I strongly believe there is better ways to be using that money, rather than making students suffer through school during the summer. If we did not have year-round schooling we could use that money for newer textbooks, or other supplies. There is absolutely no need to raise the cost of school maintenance because there is no need for year-round schooling! Also, it is much harder to pay teachers a good enough wage to keep them working. More often than not, quality teachers find better paying schools thus, unqualified teachers may teach students, due to year-round schooling. Obviously, you can see that money will be wasted by having a year-round schooling schedule as opposed to a traditional school sche...
... middle of paper ...
...ol is tremendously high. The amount of money needed just to keep the school facilities functioning could be used to help with better school supplies. Equally important, the academic prospect of year round schooling does not show any gain in test scores, or student retention. In fact, there is a downward spiral of scores coming from schools that have installed year round schooling. Lastly, the year round schedule is not appreciated in the family structure. It is much harder to sign a student up for swimming classes, or summer camps when year round schedule has such a short summer. I urge you to understand what you are really doing by establishing year round scheduling in your school. Is it truly beneficial? Year round scheduling does not have very many advantages, and I honestly believe that traditional schedules should not be switched to year round schooling!
First, the pros of year round schooling can include; effects on absence and burnout rates, effects on budget, more frequent breaks, and also a big effect on academic achievement. The way that year round schooling works to reduce burnout and also reduce absences is that by having more frequent breaks; students are less likely to want to skip class. This is definitely noticeable after spring break where most schools don’t have any days off until the end of the year that is usually more than 2 months straight. In other words the “April, May, June stretch”. Year round schooling will also help students with their academics as well because with the way the schedule is set up, students do not ha...
Nonetheless, there is some resistance to schools converting to a year-round calendar. Most of that opposition comes from the reduction in intersession length, and some students and/or parents don 't like the idea of year-round education from the start. This gives families a reason to voice their opposition when both the parents and child 's schedules do not line up with one another. This usually affects households that wish to take long vacations over the course of a summer. Parents, in some cases, may oppose this change because of child care needs. Child care raises opposition since there is a shift in the school year calendar. Parents may not be able to find nannies or babysitters. In addition, parents will have to check for or maybe even search for new or different childcare services. To add, parents with multiple children may have to worry about their children being put
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,
Teachers would firstly benefit from an implementation of year-round school by additional income earning opportunities. In a year-round system, several “tracks” are established, so that the students and teachers on each track rotate through periods of vacation and school time. Teachers who are on vacation constitute a pool of substitute teachers. The benefit to the teacher is the opportunity to earn money beyond that provided in the contract (Quinlan, 71). This is a revolutionary means for teachers to have both full-time teaching careers and a means to earn needed money on the side. In a nine-month calendar, educators have few chances to actively earn money by teaching during the summer bre...
This research indicates that those in support of this type of calendar see many benefits, but the most strongly supported 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. The Vancouver School Board is considering implementing a calendar change; in a June 2010 memorandum sent for review, “Balanced School Calendars: Pros and Cons” by Superintendent of Schools Steve Cardwell, the report summary states “the ever changing composition and needs of the students in this district make it reasonable to question whether a traditional school calendar remains the most beneficial option for our students” (1).... ... middle of paper ...
Year round schooling is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, and has shown positive academic benefits for students enrolled in year round schools. Many countries implement year round schooling, and academic ability of their students greatly surpasses those of the United States. Year round schooling, as well as increase in school days should be implemented in schools nationwide in the United States. The need for long summer vacations is non-existent, as society has become industrialized. Implementing year-round schooling, and increasing the number of school days will allow the United States to invest more time into education in order to grow and build academic success.
In conclusion, the advantages of year-round schooling are beneficial to all. If all schools did change to year round schooling, I believe we would be able to teach all the students without having to reteach skills from previous years, it could be done during intersessions. Year-round schooling benefits both the teachers and students. Teachers are able to reflect on their teachings and adjust in time before the next session would begin. The students would feel positive about themselves in school. With this change, we may even be able to accomplish No Child Left Behind.
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.
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.
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.
Back in the early ages, the idea of year-round school would be thought as completely insane, because the farming families depended on their children to be home during harvest time. Now in modern times, the term year-round school is becoming more and more common in the United States of America. Slowly the schools are changing the way they teach, from giving the students a long three month break to a shorter one month break during the summer. The change of America’s high schools to the year-round schedule benefits both the schools and the students because they still get breaks throughout the school year, the children are less likely to forget information, the children would have more time with the teachers to learn, and the parents would not have to pay for childcare during the long summer break.
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.
The phrase “year-round” scares students and parents alike. Some argue that students attending school year-round will get so burnt out that the new schedule would be counterproductive. However, the term “year-round” is misleading. Students would not go to school non-stop twelve months out of the year. Instead, students would attend in blocks separated by short but frequent breaks (Hapka). The National Education Association gives insight to the block system:
Attending a year round school will help students retain the information they are taught with greater ease due to the shortness in breaks between times they attend school. An Indianapolis fourth-grade school teacher says, “In this calendar, my goodness, (it takes) two weeks at most.”, referring to the six weeks it normally takes to review the previous year’s lesson to get the students up to speed from the summer break (Johnson). If you are to add twenty days to t...
The first reason why year round schooling wouldn’t be a good idea is because of focusing for long periods of times for some students. First of all, many kids with disabilities or elementary school would have a hard time focusing that long of a time without their traditional three month summer break. Second, the more breaks students have might make it harder to focus before and after breaks. Before breaks many kids would be excited to