To the Summer Celebration page
More summer discussions: vacation memories, vacation recommendations,
summer sports, wedding stories, tips on beating the heat, your favorite summer recipes, hints for beating summer boredom, and summer camp memories.
Jeannie from [165.248.22.145] at Wednesday, Jul. 31, 1996, 8:20pm ET
I think single-track year-round school would be ideal. Our school district couldn't provide summer school for my children this year and I had to send them 300 miles away to attend summer school in their grandparent's city.
Becky from [208.194.192.19] at Wednesday, Jul. 31, 1996, 11:16pm ET
I think it's the greatest idea to hit lately! The kids in our district (Ft Worth, TX) get evenly spaced breaks throughout the year: 9 weeks on, 3 weeks off, plus other holidays that the traditional schedules include (MLK Day, etc.). In June they get 5 weeks instead of 3. During the "intersessions", working parents can choose to send kids to enrichment or remedial classes, or on-campus daycare (also provided before and after school) that is sub-contracted by the school district. The kids are happy, they have less "catch-up" than after a 10 week summer break, attendance is higher, teachers love it...What a great deal!!!!
LJBREEZES from mn.us at Thursday, Aug. 1, 1996, 12:07am ET
Lets face it are system is out of controle some wonder is there any hope for our kids.
U.S.A. has the poor score compare to other country.
People from other country is taking over the jobs, no one wants to work anymore.
? is are kids getting the education they need or what the parents thinks the best for them, look at yourself then decide what you want for your child Good or Bad ?
Pat from utah.edu at Thursday, Aug. 1, 1996, 10:37am ET
Absolutely! Year round school is the only way to go. The kids spend Sept. & Oct. reviewing. What a waste. And to Val, wouldn't it be nice if all of us working parents could "recharge" in the summer? School teachers aren't the only ones who could use a break, but most folks don't have that option. I think year round is obviously the best way to go, but I suspect teachers unions don't support it for reasons other then the best interests of the students. Sorry to be so you, but I think you should reevaluate you reasons honestly.
Mark from [165.79.35.12] at Thursday, Aug. 1, 1996, 2:59pm ET
I think year round schools are fantastic for many reasons.
I believe kids do get bored after just a few weeks away from school. Year round schools also open up many vacation possiblities for the family. I have heard that traditional school schedules are a product of the harvest season. In this day and age most of us are not farmers.
Carolyn from uu.net at Thursday, Aug. 1, 1996, 4:08pm ET
I think many teachers would go for it, but would the school districts be able to pay for it? They would also have to air condition the schools. Where would the money for that come from?
Kathy from [198.109.185.36] at Thursday, Aug. 1, 1996, 7:55pm ET
I would love to see school in session for 9 weeks then a couple week break before going back again. My kids seem to get bored after the first few weeks off. Right now I send them to a summer rec program that allows them to be at the school with friends for 5 hours each day. It sure would help familes were both parents work fulltime all year round.
ED KAZ. from [207.121.52.11] at Thursday, Aug. 1, 1996, 11:01pm ET
Its a good idea for schools to be open all year long. The facilities should be used to its fullest capacity.
mariana from [200.229.224.9] at Thursday, Aug. 1, 1996, 11:51pm ET
maybe schools could open special summer courses, with activities that include education and entertainment at the same time. Besides, for working parents it is a great solution and grandparents would get a break too!!!!
Darcy from [204.188.87.55] at Friday, Aug. 2, 1996, 2:24am ET
Just curious: Of those districts that have tried year-round schools, was the change prompted by a desire to better the kids' education, alleviate overcrowding, or something else I haven't thought of?
lori from ibm.com at Friday, Aug. 2, 1996, 9:24am ET
A great idea, for many of the talked about reasons. The district in Ft. Worth seems to have a good plan. As to the worry about air-conditioning the buildings: buildings are heated so kids can attend in the winter. Districts may have to use the same reasoning for cooling them in the summer.
Karen from [153.37.27.249] at Friday, Aug. 2, 1996, 12:00pm ET
Year-round school is a subject that I have strong feelings about having worked as support staff in such a school for two years. Although the idea sounds good in theory, the reality is something different entirely. Frequent breaks throughout the year prove to be disruptive to continuous learning. Oops! Just when students are engaged in a fantastic thematic unit, it's time for a break - too bad! Students lose focus in the week preceding and following intersessions and more time spent on discipline is therefore required by teachers. Test scores did not improve and administering the program was costly. Our parents and district administrators have chosen to return to a traditional calendar after an expensive experiment in the latest fad of educational reform.
D & K Wheeler from [199.218.243.53] at Saturday, Aug. 3, 1996, 4:38pm ET
Our kids have went to school year round from k - 6 and love it. And they watch the other children who go to regular school go stir crazy in August and cannot figure it out. But the 6th grader changes to regular school next year in Jr. High and I'm afraid she will bug out late next summer.
Nora from win.org at Sunday, Aug. 4, 1996, 3:19am ET
I will pull my children from public schools before I ever agree to them going to school year round. I enjoy our son's and the time that we have to spend together durning the short three months. I did not have children to send off and not enjoy on a regular basis. I happen to enjoy their vacation, it gives them a time a grow, mature and make necessary changes in their attitudes, surrounds and thinkings, as they are able to learn whom they are, remember whom I am, grow and mature with out the peer pressure and other pressures involved by not having time to be themselves, experience more than just what the shcools think they need to know. yes there is lag time after summer, however once they readjust their maturity and learnings go hand in hand and that is where I think children learn the most by adjustment, not having one teacher (in this case the school and a formated learning routien). Everyone learns from adjustments and as for children going buggy around August, well that is part of life too, they
need to learn to bec comfortable with themselves and learn how to not be entertained adn managed every second of every day. We use the summer to learn , live and expereince life as it is, not to be bored and coralled into a building only reading about what their lives should or could be when they are older we are prepareing for it now so they can enjoy everything the world has to offer them.
Steve and Anne from mn.us at Monday, Aug. 5, 1996, 2:13pm ET
We are both teachers here in Oregon (elementary and middle school) and there has been much discussion in our districts about going year-round. In fact, there are many Oregon districts currently trying it. However, studies are indicating that the gains do not necessarily outweigh the costs. We find it interesting that many of the responses read here seem to be motivated by the parent's personal needs regarding their work schedules. This seems a rather selfish reason to send kids to school in the heat of a summer day. As teachers it is very difficult to motivate kids to learn when a warm sunny day beckons. Have we all forgotten what it's like to be young and unfettered with the possibilities of summer waiting to be discovered. There is a lot of learning going on that can't be measured by achievement tests or reading comprehension. Most of the things that define individuals are the result of experiences from doing and being, not rote lessons. Yes, we do spend some amount of time reviewing in the fall but research supports the view that without some amount of time away from learning, students can actually lose educational gains. Besides, teachers build on their student's "away-from-school" experiences and draw upon them throughout the entire school year. You are only young once. We feel it is important to be a child first--have fun, delight in living, and relax--away from the usual hustle-bustle of our over-scheduled, hectic school year lives.
Brian from [205.133.97.129] at Monday, Aug. 5, 1996, 5:44pm ET
As a 13 year old myself, I would not stay in a school that
went to year round, even if more little "breaks" were added
throughout the year. The summer vacation that we get already is short enough, just slightly more than 2 months. I'm still a kid, I want to have the time to have fun. I really think that education is important, but so is having fun. What really ticks me off is when people use the "My son/daughter forgets everything during the summer, etc, etc,etc", I don't mind it when people say that about their K-5th graders, but a lot of what they forget they will never use. How many of you remember what you learned in foreign language? How many of you even remember the very basic pythagoren theorem? At my grade level (8th), there is SO much information that we will never use unless we're going to start one specific career. Until I'm in college where I can major in one particular thing, I'll always be bored with a lot of the useless junk I learn every day. I'm really starting to feel like I'm going to school to satisfy the government, not to learn.
Eliz from onramp.net at 2:03am ET
My community had a YRE program for the past 7 yrs. The
program grew to include many children in 10 schools. But, our community had doubled in size, yet, YRE made up 4% of the district at an additional cost of $750,000/yr! This means $750,000 MORE was spent to have a YRE program than if these children had been on the traditional calendar. The district realized this had become a highly inefficient drain on funds. Parents were offered 1 campus devoted to YRE. They were asked to sign a commitment stating they WOULD put their children in YRE. Regular services would be provided-buses, food service, etc. The parents chose NOT to support this plan, therefore, YRE was dissolved by the school board. A very small group of militant YRE parents (about 10 families of the 4% total) caused quite a furor in our schools and community. They brought out the "supposed" studies claiming YRE children retain more knowledge, don't need as much "catch-up" time, scored higher on national tests, etc. They claimed the district hadn't given YRE a chance, claimed YRE would grow if given more time (isn't 7 yrs enough?). Most parents were against continuing the program. Teachers were polled and in just our school alone only 1 wanted to keep the program (of course, she was a YRE teacher and had HER kids in YRE! No, she wouldn't lose her job if YRE disappeared). Basically, the YRE program had become a giant, subsidized babysitting program for 2 income families. It's much easier to find someone to take care of your child when summer is only 6 weeks long rather than 10-12 weeks! And during "intercessions" they could ship the kids off to the Y or day care while dad & mom worked! It's much less expensive on them personally to have their children in school (paid for by all taxpayers) than pay someone else out of their pocket for care during summer! I have some good friends who truly believed YRE was the right thing for their children, as is their right. But they saw the incredible waste in 3/4 of $1,000,000 going to a minute group of students. (Another district near us went completely to a YRE program-there was no choice. Most of that school board was voted out during the next election and within 2 years the traditional program was back in place. Offering ONLY YRE was a major drain on the community-people wouldn't move in and alot of people moved out! The tax base decreased dramatically!) So this fall we will have no YRE program. It's not discrimination-just plain good financial sense!
Eliz from onramp.net at 2:05am ET
My previous post should say "yet, YRE made up less than 4% of the district" - apparently the "less than" sign was left out by FP computer.
Paul from purdue.edu at 10:36am ET
Year-round school is possibly a good thing for students in
urban america. I don't like to the thought of pushing this off on all schools though. Life in rural settings is different though. The summers are when the workload on a farm becomes highest, taking older kids that are able to work off of the farm during the summer will economically hurt many farm families. It would also make it harder to instill a desire for the child to continue in the farming industry. I think if you leave the decision up to each corporation then the idea is great but do not force all schools to follow this.
Heather from [204.157.179.13] at 5:16pm ET
Heather from etv.com at Wednesday, Aug. 7,1996. 3:11pm ET
I am a student,and this past year I came down with Mono. If I could have had 3 weeks to have nothing, but sleep I could have gotten better alot sooner. Also, I could have stayed caught up on my assignments with my classmates instead of being about a quarter behind. But one of the bad points is my school district has hardly any money and the students would fry during the summer with our terrible air conditioner. I think they should try it, and if it doesn't work then go back to the old way. I like what "Becky" wrote. It sounds like it works well there.