Various States that are cutting back summer vacations for kids...

[bjlc57]

there is one and one reason ONLY why schools start earlier in the SOUTH and other parts of the country.. FOOTBALL.

 

[bjlc57]

check the test scores and you will see that the highest reading and Math scores are in States that don't drag out the school year. Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York State.

when you take weeks off during the semester, this makes the semester drag. and while its great for revenue and kids think that they are getting more days off, the drag factor really hurts in the classroom.

 

[pinkrose]

This year, my kids will be starting back Aug. 8 and getting out for summer on May 22. Last year was the first time they gave us a fall break. They shaved off a couple days of our Christmas break (used to be 2.5 weeks, now just 2) and we didn't have Spring Break until mid April. Their reasoning was that they wanted testing finished before the kids got out on break. Not after. Jan to mid April with out a break made for some burned out kids and teachers.

This year, we won't have a fall break (a long weekend instead) and 2 weeks for Christmas (3 days for Thanksgiving as always), and Spring break will be in March. They tried to do the April thing again, but people protested.

 

[JDM]

I will endeavor to practice what I preach and be respectful of all involved.

When I read the first paragraph of the original post, two thoughts popped into my head before I read any further:
1) It's not insane, it's a great idea.
2) This person is probably a teacher.

WITH RESPECT, I have always found that those who speak the loudest against more weeks of school tend (as a general rule) to be those whose OWN time off would be compromised.

I think there are many reasons why our kids are so far behind most other developed nations in education. I certainly don't think another few days in school could hurt anything.

And again, with respect (and I have several friends who are teachers), most of us don't have jobs that only require us to work for 9 months (less, really, with extended holidays already in place), yet get paid as much or more than those who work year round. Not to mention that two-income households where one parent is off for the summer don't have the child care issues the rest of us might have.

A good teacher is a valuable commodity, but so is a good student. And a good family vacation, no matter how enjoyable, is far less important than a good education.

 

[Nemo14]

I will endeavor to practice what I preach and be respectful of all involved.

When I read the first paragraph of the original post, two thoughts popped into my head before I read any further:
1) It's not insane, it's a great idea.
2) This person is probably a teacher.

WITH RESPECT, I have always found that those who speak the loudest against more weeks of school tend (as a general rule) to be those whose OWN time off would be compromised.

I think there are many reasons why our kids are so far behind most other developed nations in education. I certainly don't think another few days in school could hurt anything.

And again, with respect (and I have several friends who are teachers), most of us don't have jobs that only require us to work for 9 months (less, really, with extended holidays already in place), yet get paid as much or more than those who work year round. Not to mention that two-income households where one parent is off for the summer don't have the child care issues the rest of us might have.

A good teacher is a valuable commodity, but so is a good student. And a good family vacation, no matter how enjoyable, is far less important than a good education.

As a former teacher and wife of a teacher, all I can respectfully say to that is "Walk a mile in their shoes!"

 

[bluefaery]

there is one and one reason ONLY why schools start earlier in the SOUTH and other parts of the country.. FOOTBALL.

As much as I agree with that statement (I live in texas HOOK 'EM). The students here in Cedar Park (just north of Austin), and San Antonio don't start school until August 27th, which I think is wrong considerng the very next Monday they get a day off b/c of Labor day. I remember when I was in high school we started school anytime between August 12th and August 15th. There is my $.02

 

[slappy magoo]

As a former teacher and wife of a teacher, all I can respectfully say to that is "Walk a mile in their shoes!"

Yeah, just because I think kids need more school doesn't mean that I think all teachers are a$$-dragging, but there are some who aren't living up to their end of their contract, and plenty others who can't honor their end of the contracts with out of date textbooks, kids who refuse to absorb knowledge, administrations who insist they "teach to the test" instead of making sure students retain what they know, parents who insist evolution is a lie and their kids don't need to learn it, local big business bullies who insist as long as a kid can catch a football he should move on to the next grade, lest his scholarships he hasn't even really earned get jeopardized, etc. I'm married to a teacher and have 3 siblings who are teachers, and oftentimes their most frequent complaint is catching the kids up to all the stuff they were supposed to know by then, but don't. And this is in a supposedly good suburban area, I can't even imagine how badly the kids in poorly funded urban areas have to catch up just to be functionally literate.

 

[Nemo14]

Yeah, just because I think kids need more school doesn't mean that I think all teachers are a$$-dragging, but there are some who aren't living up to their end of their contract, and plenty others who can't honor their end of the contracts with out of date textbooks, kids who refuse to absorb knowledge, administrations who insist they "teach to the test" instead of making sure students retain what they know, parents who insist evolution is a lie and their kids don't need to learn it, local big business bullies who insist as long as a kid can catch a football he should move on to the next grade, lest his scholarships he hasn't even really earned get jeopardized, etc. I'm married to a teacher and have 3 siblings who are teachers, and oftentimes their most frequent complaint is catching the kids up to all the stuff they were supposed to know by then, but don't. And this is in a supposedly good suburban area, I can't even imagine how badly the kids in poorly funded urban areas have to catch up just to be functionally literate.

My DH worked until the 3rd of July since he is a department head, and so far has spent over 100 hours of his "vacation" time working on curriculum changes for next year. The sad part is that the "new" curriculum is basically the curriculum that they used 20 years ago.

 

[gettingsmaller]

I don't think that longer or shorter summers are going to help the school situation. My own opinion is that we have too few parents who care--or have the TIME to care. We have turned the schools into a state-run day care and asked them to take over parenting duties while taking away all of their disciplinary power. When you have children who aren't given boundaries at home and CAN'T be given boundaries at school, you end up with a building full of kids who don't behave properly (and some who probably don't even know HOW to behave properly).
In the past, our spending per student was lower, our summers were longer, our teachers paid less, and we didn't have "No Child Left Behind"--yet SOMEHOW we managed to turn out kids who could read, write, and lose a fingernail without needing counselors to help them deal with it. I think the length of vacations is not going to make a bit of difference. The problem is deeper, and putting the kids into the state-run day care for more time during the summer is not going to fix things...

 

[disneyfan56]

Isn't this an interesting topic for a disney board?

Oh well- here's my 2 cents: I don't think our education system is behind other countries. The big, and I mean BIG, difference is that education is mandatory in the US until atleast age 16, regardless of interests. We do not allow non-student type children an option other than sitting in a class and learning from a book. Our government refuses to believe that as far as book learning goes, some children need to be left behind, but other options should be provided, such as work experience and expanded vocational school.

that's all.

 

[WDWFigment]

Without getting into the whole ideological debate about schooling, I think the shorter summers are great... for those of us without kids who want to enjoy the parks in late August without as long of lines! :biggrin:

As for the ideological part; I remember the good ole days of learning so much in the summer just be letting my imagination go wild a la Calvin and Hobbes. Are today's kids all fat/lazy TV watchers, or are they still able to learn in the summer?

 

[Eyorefan]

there is one and one reason ONLY why schools start earlier in the SOUTH and other parts of the country.. FOOTBALL.

Yeah and that is probably why Texas (one of the biggest HS football states) has made it mandatory for all school districts to start school on or after August 27.

 

[maelstrom]

putting the kids into the state-run day care for more time during the summer is not going to fix things...

I totally agree.

My high school was nothing more than a glorified babysitting service. The teachers and staff had to be more concerned with students beating each other up, dealing drugs in the hallway, having ______ in the stairwells (oh, yes, that really did happen in my high school), and trying to beat the crap out of the teachers themselves. There was no time for real learning. Extending the school year won't fix that at all.

Hopefully some of you have seen the movie "Lean on Me" with Morgan Freeman about Joe Clark, the principal of an inner-city school in the 1980s, who managed to kick the school into shape with a no-nonsense policy. You screw up, and you're out. A LOT of schools need to take this approach. It may seem a little scary, but that's what they need.

They also need much more parental involvement. It used to be, that if a student got in trouble at school and they called home, that kid was in deep poo. Now, you've got parents yelling at teachers for kicking poor Johnny out of school for dealing drugs. . Parents and school faculty need to be on one team.

 

[JDM]

My own opinion is that we have too few parents who care--or have the TIME to care.

I completely agree. No debate on education should leave out the parental factor.

I don't think our education system is behind other countries.

Actually, yes it is and it's been that way for years...and explored in the media quite frequently. Japanese kids, for instance, are way above ours in knowledge of various subjects.

We do not allow non-student type children an option other than sitting in a class and learning from a book. Our government refuses to believe that as far as book learning goes, some children need to be left behind, but other options should be provided, such as work experience and expanded vocational school.

It true that different kids learn at different rates and have different abilities. And we should do our best to assist ALL kids to achieve their maximum potential. But "leaving them behind" benefits no one and takes us back to the 1800's when kids left school to work on the farm instead of "book learnin'". Do we really want to regress to that point?

BUT.....let's remember that the original post did not really seem to be much about education, but seemed more about sports accomodation and vacation inconvenience. I totally agree on the sports question. But I maintain that vacations are secondary to education and teacher's work schedules.

 

[disneyfan56]

"It's true that different kids learn at different rates and have different abilities. And we should do our best to assist ALL kids to achieve their maximum potential. But "leaving them behind" benefits no one and takes us back to the 1800's when kids left school to work on the farm instead of "book learnin'". Do we really want to regress to that point?"

Why is it that all children are expected to learn by the same methods? Are we not unique individuals with a unique set of skills?

Speaking of sport teams- not everyone can be the pitcher or quarterback or center, but why not? Because we all have a unique set of skills. Education and academic progress is no different. We should be allowed to develop the talents we possess and stop making some childen feel the sting of failure because they are not adept at learning in school from rote lectures and books.

 

[miles1]

I don't think that longer or shorter summers are going to help the school situation. My own opinion is that we have too few parents who care--or have the TIME to care. We have turned the schools into a state-run day care and asked them to take over parenting duties while taking away all of their disciplinary power. When you have children who aren't given boundaries at home and CAN'T be given boundaries at school, you end up with a building full of kids who don't behave properly (and some who probably don't even know HOW to behave properly).
In the past, our spending per student was lower, our summers were longer, our teachers paid less, and we didn't have "No Child Left Behind"--yet SOMEHOW we managed to turn out kids who could read, write, and lose a fingernail without needing counselors to help them deal with it. I think the length of vacations is not going to make a bit of difference. The problem is deeper, and putting the kids into the state-run day care for more time during the summer is not going to fix things...

AMEN.

Further, In the city where I live, its been estimated that 60% (yes, sixty) of the children entering the public schools do not have English as their primary language. (We've gotten national attention over the situation a few times, primarily from Lou Dobbs). Some of the teachers that I'm aquainted with have told me that they have to focus nearly all their attention on these kids to get them up to steam, or risk loosing funding under No Child Left Behind when they are tested. Since they get no reinforcement of the English language at home, they often return after vacations and holidays having lost a lot of what they've learned. The kids that do speak English, and those that are ahead of the curve get little or no attention as a result. The end result is stunning mediocrity of achievement for the general school population.

I gave up on the public school system here a while ago and my kids attend a parochial school. DS, age 13, just scored in the top 1% of kids his age on the IOWA tests this year. He tested at College Sophamore level , and he's already gotten letters from a few universities like Johns Hopkins. (Sorry for bragging.) I wonder if this would have been possible had he attended the local public schools.

Am I saying these kids with special needs should be left behind? Absolutely not. Perhaps the school year should be extended only for them, to bring them up to the level of the general school populace. That way no one is penalized during the regular school year, and a higher level of achievement can be attained. And, we can enjoy our summer vacations.

End Rant.

 

[kubfish]

I agree with a lot of points in here, especially about education needing improvement.

Our school district does a really good job with parent / teacher interaction and I am sure thats why we have one of the better school districts in our area. Parent involvement is really a major key to improving the system.

Our school year starts Aug20th which seems earlier then last. I have no problem taking my kids out for a week to go to WDW. Some will disagree and thats fine. But thats for another day/thread

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Yuck! Kids need there vacations. Taking them away will make it a bad situation in the schools with stressed out kids.

Perhaps the school year isn't long enough......

 

[Montyboy]

I will endeavor to practice what I preach and be respectful of all involved.

When I read the first paragraph of the original post, two thoughts popped into my head before I read any further:
1) It's not insane, it's a great idea.
2) This person is probably a teacher.

WITH RESPECT, I have always found that those who speak the loudest against more weeks of school tend (as a general rule) to be those whose OWN time off would be compromised.

I think there are many reasons why our kids are so far behind most other developed nations in education. I certainly don't think another few days in school could hurt anything.

And again, with respect (and I have several friends who are teachers), most of us don't have jobs that only require us to work for 9 months (less, really, with extended holidays already in place), yet get paid as much or more than those who work year round. Not to mention that two-income households where one parent is off for the summer don't have the child care issues the rest of us might have.

A good teacher is a valuable commodity, but so is a good student. And a good family vacation, no matter how enjoyable, is far less important than a good education.

The first thing I wanted to write to the original poster was at least you are getting the most out of your tax dollars. Never mind - I'm just going to get into trouble here...

 

[Montyboy]

I know a teacher who actually knows he has a great deal.