School's (Not) Out For Summer

Back to School Already? Year-Round Programs in Full Swing - ABC News Shared via AddThis

Thanks to Eric Langhorst (Twitter:ELanghorst) for tweeting this article. It reminds me just how much I would love to have year-round classes.

When I was a student while living in England, we had year-round schooling. School started in the beginning of August, with one month breaks in December, March, and July. I remembered more when we came back to school in August, and we (my family) had more time to travel for Winter Break, Spring Break, etc. Given the opportunity, I would absolutely love to have year-round schooling here.

That being said, I do have to agree with some of the critics that say year-round schooling will not help a school that is already mediocre. Isn't that true of any initiative? However, I think a move to a "modified calendar" would give some teachers the added consistency they need to make changes to the way they teach. We're always complaining about a lack of time, so who wouldn't benefit from an extra 20-30 days in the school year?

There were also a couple of comments for this article -- one in particular -- that I wanted to address. I've heard from people before that the 3-month summer vacation is "a key part of life for American youth," as one of the comments says. I would challenge that by asking: "Can you tell me exactly what those American youth are doing during those three months that is so worthwhile?" I don't view the longer calendar as being extended babysitting, and I've been to the mall or the park during June, July, and August... so I suppose this additional summer time is key for all of the smoking, lounging, vandalizing, etc. that some American youth choose to participate in. I see students' Facebook updates about how bored they are, or that they're just sitting at home, "doin nuthin." Is this really what summer is all about?