Year round school - Poll

[whatsfree4me]

I am not sure if this is hot under the collar yet but I am pretty sure that if our school district did it, I would be pretty hot.

There was a short debate on the news earlier about the pros and cons of the kids going to school all year long. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like that for various reasons. I thought it would be interesting to get opinions from people that have experienced this, before I get to dead-set against it.

I also thought it would be fun to add a poll. So, do your kids attend school all year long? If so, what is your opinion of it.

[beth119]

Ours don't... but my aunt and uncle are teachers and they do. THEY LOVE IT. And the kids tend to do better.

I don't know if I'd like it... Mostly for selfish reasons though. Lazy beach bound summers, vacations, 2 months of sleeping in...

But, if it meant my children would get a better education?? ABSOLUTELY GO FOR IT!

[momof2inohio]

I don't think I would like it. I enjoy having the kids home during the summer and being able to do fun things with them. I also think kids need a break during the summer months to just be kids.

[beth119]

Actually, a few years ago, ONE of our like 10 elem schools talked about doing this...]

I was opposed to it then, because it was for only ONE school. If a parent had one kid in that school, and one in the HS, the schedules clashed.

[amylynne01]

Year round school doesn't mean school all year. It's the same amount of school (180 days), just scheduled differently. So they'll go to school for something like 2 months, have 1 month off, rinse and repeat all year. It is better in terms of retention of material. There is no 2.5 month break for kids to lose what they've learned which does happen. This is why some schools have review at the beginning of the year, which a lot of schools have done away with because of time constraints.

From an education standpoint, it is loads more effective. There have been studies where employees are more productive if they take regular vacations from work - same principle applies here. I would love if my kids were in an all year school (they're only 2 and 1) because of the quality of education they will receive.

[whatsfree4me]

That is one of the arguments they used for it, that you don't have to reteach them things. Most kids are in a different grade after summer and that is why they refresh because they do not have the same teachers. There is going to be some point during the year that the kids are going be moved up and probably get a new teacher, so I don't see much of a difference.

I also think that giving them a two or three week vacation every other month is going to burn them out faster. I know when my kids are off for a week at Christmas, they don't want to go back and are lagging for a few days. If you do this several times a year, it is going to be worse on them then reajusting after summer vacation.

Knowing my kids and how they react, I think they would actually learn less in the long run.

[momof2inohio]

That is one of the arguments they used for it, that you don't have to reteach them things. Most kids are in a different grade after summer and that is why they refresh because they do not have the same teachers. There is going to be some point during the year that the kids are going be moved up and probably get a new teacher, so I don't see much of a difference.

I also think that giving them a two or three week vacation every other month is going to burn them out faster. I know when my kids are off for a week at Christmas, they don't want to go back and are lagging for a few days. If you do this several times a year, it is going to be worse on them then reajusting after summer vacation.

Knowing my kids and how they react, I think they would actually learn less in the long run.

I think so too. It would be hard on us as a family to get adjusted to new schedules every few months. My kids stay up later during summer months.

There are lots of things kids can do during the summer so they do not forget what they learned the past school year. My kids were not thrilled but I made them read every single night this past summer. They also did some enrichment classes.

My kids just started back to school last tues. and they really only spent a few days doing some assesment tests on the students.

[amylynne01]

Refreshing is not done because students have a new teacher. It's because of the long summer break. There will still be a start of the school year. It can still be after summer break, however long it ends up being. Here is an article from ednews.org about the benefits of year round schooling.

This article mentions that there is no definitive evidence that year round schools are better because of scarce data. It definitely has its perks and its downfalls, just like the regular 10 month school year. Many schools do it as a cost saving measure since you can accommodate more students in the same school building. It requires more planning and diligence. If educators used the schedule to its full potential, it could be a great alternative because it offers benefits that a traditional schedule can't offer.

However, I do not think that year round education is going to become the norm. We are so ingrained that schools get a 2 month summer vacation because of our farming roots that it will be a tough challenge to get kids, parents, and schools on board. It can also affect local businesses because kids may be in school while summer programs are going on, and some families may have their kids on different tracks. There are so many logistics that I just don't think it will catch on.

[loaslaen]

Our schools switched to block scheduling with an A/B schedule. I would have rather had year round schooling than that kind of scheduling. Luckily I had neither!

[~~Who,Me?~~]

My son goes to school year round, a total of 42 weeks each school year. They just take their 10 weeks off here & there, dispersed a bit, instead of all in one lump. He was off for 2 weeks in June, July 4 week and 3 weeks in Aug, so there still is enough summer time if we want it. I like it because he gets ample down time, but still stays in a routine for the most part.

We are no longer such an agricultural based society. And even those who do farm, except for the Amish, it's not like you depend on your kids to do the farming. That's where the summer break comes from. It's really an outdated notion, but the teachers' unions keep it alive.

I'm not in the mood to google it, but I'm pretty sure I've read that doing year-round school does prove to be better for students academically. Oh, I see amylynne has posted some links, but I think I have seen definitive evidence.