An all year round school is set up to operate without a lengthy summer or fall break like traditional schools. Many states are setting up their school systems with this option available to students. There are some benefits of having all year round schools in comparison to non year round schools.
Why are traditional school calendars set up with such a long summer break? When public schooling first became available to students, our society was mainly agricultural and children were needed during the summer months to help maintain and gather crops. Today’s society is a technological society and there is no longer a demand for child labor during the three month summervacation. Nowadays, many students work a part time job or spend their summer at home alone while parents work.
Parents, teachers and students need to be able to focus on children learning as much as they can from school. Following the agricultural type of calendar does not maximize learning time for students. The majority of the problems that arise with non year round schools are alleviated and minimized by having students attend school throughout the year without a three month long vacation in the summer.
One complaint about non year round schools is the issue of childcare during the summer months. Students are typically on summer vacation approximately three months of the year. Parents are faced with having to find adequate and age appropriate childcare during these three months. The alternative is that parents have to take three months off of work to be able to care for their children at home. Many children are not old enough to stay home alone. After school care was all that was needed during the school year. It is often challenging to find a sitter during the summer because so many people go on vacations. Many parents also cannot afford day-long enrichment programs. Summer camp often is not an option for many of the children because scholarships and financial aid are limited. Children are left with minimal care or completely alone during the summer without any structured and supervised care.
Why are traditional school calendars set up with such a long summer break? When public schooling first became available to students, our society was mainly agricultural and children were needed during the summer months to help maintain and gather crops. Today’s society is a technological society and there is no longer a demand for child labor during the three month summervacation. Nowadays, many students work a part time job or spend their summer at home alone while parents work.
Parents, teachers and students need to be able to focus on children learning as much as they can from school. Following the agricultural type of calendar does not maximize learning time for students. The majority of the problems that arise with non year round schools are alleviated and minimized by having students attend school throughout the year without a three month long vacation in the summer.
One complaint about non year round schools is the issue of childcare during the summer months. Students are typically on summer vacation approximately three months of the year. Parents are faced with having to find adequate and age appropriate childcare during these three months. The alternative is that parents have to take three months off of work to be able to care for their children at home. Many children are not old enough to stay home alone. After school care was all that was needed during the school year. It is often challenging to find a sitter during the summer because so many people go on vacations. Many parents also cannot afford day-long enrichment programs. Summer camp often is not an option for many of the children because scholarships and financial aid are limited. Children are left with minimal care or completely alone during the summer without any structured and supervised care.
A year round school would have more days where the students are at school. The breaks are typically two or three weeks instead of a month or more. Many of the vacation periods are during traditional holidays and the days needed for childcare would be covered by employee holiday schedules. Parents can find nannies, friends and relatives that will assist with the childcare that is short term much easier then childcare that is a several month commitment.
Another complaint about non year round schools is the amount of review time that has to be given to students at the beginning of each school year. The nayre.org reports that the director of John Hopkins University Center for summer learning states that there is 2.6 months of learning lost during the long summer months by students. Children are simply forgetting the things that they learned while they were in school over the summer.
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Take a look at the video clip below and tell us your thoughts. Should school be all year around?
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