Should school end in June?

It’s an interesting enough question – don’t you think?  I know the kids love having three months off in the summer to vacation and enjoy the beautiful weather (and I don’t think the teachers mind too much, either!), but maybe it’s time for a change. 

The actual purpose for “summer vacation” stems back to times when children were needed to help tend the farm and get everything ready for the fall harvest.  Back then, they may have preferred to stay in school!  It’s funny to me how much has changed over the centuries and yet the school’s calendar year has not budged.  There is such an emphasis on education and “competing” with other countries one would think that adjusting the school year would be a simple and relatively easy fix.  Perhaps modeling an educational system after those found in other countries would help our country gain a competitive edge.

Beyond high school, we’re seeing more and more of the accelerated programs where there are a couple weeks off between semesters – mostly in online colleges and universities.  And we’re starting to see online high schools pop up more and more, giving the student the ability to work at their own personal level and at their own pace. 

What are your thoughts?  Do you think the traditional September-June school year should be rethought?

Posted on June 30, 2009 16:08 by pennfosterblogadmin
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June 30. 2009 16:44

I actually think it would be better without the "summer" break. That is an opportunity to forget what they have learned throughout the year. I think that the best way would be like a two week break between each semester. For high school students I think that they deserve like maybe a two week break for christmas, & holidays, but not a whole three months break just for summer. It would be more apropriate for the students to get just a few two week breaks here and there to relaxe from studies, but not go all year long with no breaks and then, get three months for summer. That is just too big of a gap from learning, because in that spand of time... it is just like a crutch. Because when they come back to school it is like starting all over again, instead of just picking up where they left off!

Britteny Cole

June 30. 2009 18:12

My better half and myself were just discussing this yesterday, I do believe summer vacation makes no sense and would be better off without one. School aged children have no idea at the time but they need as much education as possible before leaving school and coming out into this sometimes harsh world.

Megan

June 30. 2009 19:42

Actually, you have it real good out there in the U.S. The longest I can remember having as a break in a traditional brick n mortar institution here in Nigeria while I still attended such was a month. Actually, I've come to be less interested in such long gap from studying.

I still would prefer a maximum of two months off. And within that time period, there should be some learning infused in it so that students will still learn, some skills or anything else. But the point being there should be some learning in between those times to prevent forgetting.

Josh

June 30. 2009 23:44

I prefer year round. I believe if I had the summer off I would forget some of the things I had learned and would just have to spend that extra time to catch back up.

Sheryl

July 3. 2009 03:12

My wife and I homeschool our two children, and we follow a yearlong schedule. We give our kids several short breaks (1 week here, 2 weeks there) throughout the year as appropriate. We have found that they tend to not 'shut down' their brains as their friends do. We also vary the workload throughout the year as well, giving them several harder tasks for a few months then easing off for a while and doing more 'fun and hands-on' activities. This seems to be very effective for our kids. We really disagree with the cookie cutter methods of teaching that too many schools utilize today.

Phil

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