Would a Year Round School be better????

[SteveBrickNJ]

Most of US school districts follow a 10 month school year. NJ schools mostly run from early Sept. to mid. June. Other states start in late August and finish in late May.
Anyway, most school years have students in the classroom receiving instruction for 180 days in the year. As stated already....10 months...180 days.
*
*
There are a small percentage of school districts or private schools that take that same 180 day standard and spread those days of learning over all 12 months.
So for example:
...............Learn for 9 weeks...get 3 weeks off
....come back and learn for another 9 weeks....then get the next 3 weeks off.
Etc....etc....etc.
*
*
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS TOPIC??????

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

 

[21stamps]

No! Kids need a break..but...Parents need a break too!!

I don’t have to pack a lunch for 2.5 months.
I don’t need to obsessively check my email fr school emails.
I don’t need to worry about show and tell or reports or power point or meetings or teachers gifts or volunteering or a during-work-hours event.
I don’t have to worry about forgetting that today was an out of uniform day or something was due.
I don’t have to argue with my kid about bedtime.
I can go spend time with my child and not just feel like our lives are consumed by homework and sports.

Let. Me. Enjoy. My. 2.5 Months!!!!!!!

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

No! Kids need a break..but...Parents need a break too!!

I don’t have to pack a lunch for 2.5 months.
I don’t need to obsessively check my email fr school emails.
I don’t need to worry about show and tell or reports or power point or meetings or teachers gifts or volunteering or a during-work-hours event.
I don’t have to worry about forgetting that today was an out of uniform day or something was due.
I don’t have to argue with my kid about bedtime.
I can go spend time with my child and not just feel like our lives are consumed by homework and sports.

Let. Me. Enjoy. My. 2.5 Months!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing. Many great points.

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

No! Kids need a break..but...Parents need a break too!!

I don’t have to pack a lunch for 2.5 months.
I don’t need to obsessively check my email fr school emails.
I don’t need to worry about show and tell or reports or power point or meetings or teachers gifts or volunteering or a during-work-hours event.
I don’t have to worry about forgetting that today was an out of uniform day or something was due.
I don’t have to argue with my kid about bedtime.
I can go spend time with my child and not just feel like our lives are consumed by homework and sports.

Let. Me. Enjoy. My. 2.5 Months!!!!!!!

Yet, @21stamps ....do you ever feel tired in/by early Dec. doing the stuff you mentioned in your post? You are doin' that stuff from Sept. 3rd and there is no significant break from Sept. 3rd until finally Christmas comes around. BUT....Following the 12 month plan....you'd enjoy 3 weeks off in the fall! Go to Disney or on a cruise at off peak pricing. Same argument in the Spring. 3 weeks off in the Spring!
Don't worry....it won't happen. It's just a silly thread. It was a way to kill time. No one is gonna change. Old habits are hard to break. Ya think???

 

[PeakSeason]

This is something that gets discussed seriously in my area every now and again. It almost came to fruition at one point. Where I live the main factor is constant population growth and the idea that following the all year calendar would allow for staggering the students such that the schools would operate non stop but the groups of students in attendance would rotate. The goal being to avoid over crowding in the buildings, the constant additions of portable type classrooms on the school grounds, and the building of new schools.
I have always been against this for all of the reasons listed by @21stamps . Children deserve an extended period to decompress and just be kids for the summer. Parents need it too. I like having structure and discipline for most of the year but then taking a break to pursue more leisurely activities at a slower pace for 10 weeks or so. To me, it's what makes summer, summer

 

[21stamps]

Yet, @21stamps ....do you ever feel tired in/by early Dec. doing the stuff you mentioned in your post? You are doin' that stuff from Sept. 3rd and there is no significant break from Sept. 3rd until finally Christmas comes around. BUT....Following the 12 month plan....you'd enjoy 3 weeks off in the fall! Go to Disney or on a cruise at off peak pricing. Same argument in the Spring. 3 weeks off in the Spring!
Don't worry....it won't happen. It's just a silly thread. It was a way to kill time. No one is gonna change. Old habits are hard to break. Ya think???

This is why we take a vacation in November!

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

This is why we take a vacation in November!

OK. I see

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

This is something that gets discussed seriously in my area every now and again. It almost came to fruition at one point. Where I live the main factor is constant population growth and the idea that following the all year calendar would allow for staggering the students such that the schools would operate non stop but the groups of students in attendance would rotate. The goal being to avoid over crowding in the buildings, the constant additions of portable type classrooms on the school grounds, and the building of new schools.
I have always been against this for all of the reasons listed by @21stamps . Children deserve an extended period to decompress and just be kids for the summer. Parents need it too. I like having structure and discipline for most of the year but then taking a break to pursue more leisurely activities at a slower pace for 10 weeks or so. To me, it's what makes summer, summer

The teenager in the youtube video I posted above said that she enjoys never having to work hard for longer than 9 weeks. Right when she gets to the point of mental exhaustion....just before she feels burned out....she gets 3 weeks off. Works for her. Not for most though.

 

[PeakSeason]

The teenager in the youtube video I posted above said that she enjoys never having to work hard for longer than 9 weeks. Right when she gets to the point of mental exhaustion....just before she feels burned out....she gets 3 weeks off. Works for her. Not for most though.

Yes. There are many teaching professionals who believe in exactly that. They also feel that retention of information taught is increased using this method of 9 weeks on, 3 weeks off. I just happen to be a fan of how it's always been. I love the way that each season has a different feel, and as far as summer goes, that feeling of freedom from schedules coupled with a huge increase in leisure time is what it's all about. I'm not saying I'm right. This year round method may very well be a more effective way to teach.

 

[Goofyernmost]

For working family's (Dad & Mom) it seems like it would be a nightmare for them to find daycares etc., that can jumble those kind of schedules. Everyone I know of now charges a monthly charge whether you take them there or you don't. It is probably a real good thing for stay at home mom's or dad's. What was mentioned before, kids need an extended time I think. Having gone to school in the old fashioned nine and a half months allowed for me to have something to look forward too and the break that I needed as well. As very much a grown-up now the very thought of year round gives me the shivers.

We have 12 month public schools here in the Raleigh area. Just bare in mind that the public isn't going to pay any more money because you are working 12 months. You, as a teacher, will be working the same amount of days as before, but, the pay will be spread out over 12 months and you have no large block of time off each year. It is more possible now then it was back when the current system was put in place. That schedule was based on the fact the farmers needed the kids home in the summer to get the hay in, get the summer chores done, plant the crops. Later in Urban areas it was because of the heat in the classrooms in the summer and AC wasn't available then. It is now, but, not without added costs.

My guess is that year round will be the norm before to long though. I'm sure that before long someone will realize that it is probably more efficient to manage the real estate continuiously then to just shut it down a couple of months at a time.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Some older schools aren't equipped to operate during the heat of summer...

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

Some older schools aren't equipped to operate during the heat of summer...

For sure that's true. Putting in air conditioning in such schools and then paying the electric bill for cooling.....well that will keep many Board of Eds from even considering any switch from the traditional "summer off" school year.
Summer Camps would be harmed in the wallet. The boardwalk at the shore towns wouldn't be the same of school was in session.
All food for thought. I appreciate each and every poster who took the time to share their thoughts.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

They've been talking about that since I was going to school in NJ in the 1980's.

It'll never happen in NJ because people have a shore house for the summer and they're not going to change that. So you've got the families as well as the beach economy against it.

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

They've been talking about that since I was going to school in NJ in the 1980's.

It'll never happen in NJ because people have a shore house for the summer and they're not going to change that. So you've got the families as well as the beach economy against it.

Totally agree. Very good point regarding NJ. It could happen in some other states. Maybe?

 

[PeakSeason]

They've been talking about that since I was going to school in NJ in the 1980's.

It'll never happen in NJ because people have a shore house for the summer and they're not going to change that. So you've got the families as well as the beach economy against it.

I'm not from NJ, but my state is also all about summers on the Atlantic. We're all "down the ocean" in June, July, and most of August.

 

[MinnieM123]

When I was a kid in school, having the summer off for vacation, was the highlight of the year for me! I'm sure nowadays there are pros and cons of a year-round schedule, but I just think that the kids would prefer the summer off. Just my opinion, (and I don't have children.)

 

[winstongator]

This is something that gets discussed seriously in my area every now and again. It almost came to fruition at one point. Where I live the main factor is constant population growth and the idea that following the all year calendar would allow for staggering the students such that the schools would operate non stop but the groups of students in attendance would rotate. The goal being to avoid over crowding in the buildings, the constant additions of portable type classrooms on the school grounds, and the building of new schools.
I have always been against this for all of the reasons listed by @21stamps . Children deserve an extended period to decompress and just be kids for the summer. Parents need it too. I like having structure and discipline for most of the year but then taking a break to pursue more leisurely activities at a slower pace for 10 weeks or so. To me, it's what makes summer, summer

Why not just let kids be kids more during the school year? Overscheduling and overhomeworking are problems that are better solved by addressing them directly rather than a work-too-hard/decompress cycling.

I wonder how much improvement we'd see in learning by eliminating the summer slump. I also wonder how American students compare to European students. Working with Swedish clients, they'd take extended seemingly month-long vacations every summer. Stockholm is at a higher latitude than Juneau. As I saw in both Summer and Winter, the seasonality of day length is huge there.

 

[winstongator]

They've been talking about that since I was going to school in NJ in the 1980's.

It'll never happen in NJ because people have a shore house for the summer and they're not going to change that. So you've got the families as well as the beach economy against it.

I'd imagine an overwhelming majority of NJ residents don't have a shore house. However, the political influence of those that do, as well as the beach economies, probably outweighs the combined influence of those outside those two groups.