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[Paches]

Yes. That is the correct conclusion to draw. Wouldn't that force schools to become infinitely better and more enjoyable?

There is a misconception in this country, and I think it is probably common all around the world: Kids hate to learn. Learning is something we have to threaten them to do and to punish them when they don't do it well enough. The more they hate it, the better they are learning. The mere fact that you think it is a ridiculous idea for a child to choose to go to school or not should attest to this.

The reality is that kids love to learn. School usually destroys that love, remarkably quickly. The problem is that this learning process is so foreign to the way schools are now that I don't think it will ever be fixed.

So if they love to learn, why do we threaten/punish them? What are we punishing them with if they don't learn? I just fundamentally disagree with you.

 

[Dastardly Jerks]

I believe reducing summer break, which started for the sole purpose of helping kids produce agricultural goods, and redistributing the time off in monthly-week long breaks, kids will remember the material better, and spend more time learning.

This is you:

 

[Gully State]

It should be shortened at the very least...2.5 months of break is just way too much..

 

[ProfessorLobo]

So if the teachers stop teaching then the students will start learning? That's your suggestion?



That's got to be the craziest thing I've heard in life. If you think that the real world is somehow more liberating there is a refreshing career of sitting on your mothers couch in store. School opened the doors to the possibilities of EVERYTHING. Never again in your life will you have the opportunity to just explore (and explore for free at that) all of the possibilities of world with the guidance of someone who can tell you how things work. The teacher is their to educate - to guide you through all of these vast subjects and all you have to do is listen, take it in, ask questions, and generally explore the subject. That is what school has always been about.

I have 2 kids (ages 6 and 5) and we spend a lot of time on nights and weekends doing science projects, reading, and playing with toys/games. They have never not wanted to go to school unless they were tired or sick and have always come away from it with a fun attitude, and I make them work at it when they get home. The first thing they do when they walk through the door is homework - and they all share what they've learned with everyone else and they LOVE it.

I have gone to my kids school and taught classes on Robotics and its amazing how much information 6 year olds will soak up on a subject that the average person thinks is beyond them. They are building their on Roomba robot.

During the summer they will attend a summer program, and summer camp, and have free time to do whatever they want - but its never ever ever so long as I live 3 months of sitting on their ass doing nothing.

Learning IS fun! Discovery IS fun! Experimentation IS fun! And both of the kids are in a classroom at least a grade ahead of where they should be (my sons is 2 grades ahead) because they like school, they enjoy it, and they have a balance between that and other stuff which is fun as well.

Sorry that whomever teaching you completely dropped the fucking ball.

I do hope it lasts for your kids, you seem to have a vested interest in their education. What school do they go to?

 

[bonercop]

My favorite thing to rip on about modern school systems is how your peers -- what might be the most significant factor affecting your schooling -- get determined. What decides this super-essential part of a child's live, you might ask? ...socio-economic position and age(gotta have that date of production logo on 'em).

It's the dumbest shit and based entirely on tradition that cropped up during the industrial age.

 

[Phoenix]

So Summer isn't the time for fun? Or is it that School is being viewed at as tedious? What's going on here?

You should be having fun all year round. Having a psychological duality of school/work summer/fun is a huge problem. There shouldn't be anything particularly tedious about school. It should be challenging, of course, but so should a video game.

 

[Zhengi]

The opportunity cost of 2.5 months that a child can be spent in a quality, stimulating environment, rather than at home, doing nothing.

Of course, some people have the luxury of having access to many books, good parents who motivate their children, and learn during the summer. But I'd you've ever been to many parts of the us, you'd see this is not the case.

I see you ignored the other 90% of my post.

Pretty much this. I would say that this is especially important in poorer communities that do not offer families the opportunities and places for kids to learn during the summer and the parents are too busy to teach the kids themselves. These kids are left alone in the house and all they do is waste time away watching tv or doing nothing.

And like I mentioned above, having kids go to school during the summer breaks would be equivalent to almost 3 years of extra education to help them.

 

[Angry Fork]

So Summer isn't the time for fun? Or is it that School is being viewed at as tedious? What's going on here?

I'm assuming he means school should be seen as fun and interesting too, and if it isn't then we have a problem because then students won't want to learn. I completely agree with this, but don't know how anyone can blame the students for this.

Summer break is fun because there's nobody forcing you to do something you don't want to do, and taking that away from kids is punishing them for something that isn't their fault. 'YOU'RE NOT LEARNING WELL ENOUGH, SO WE'RE GONNA FORCE YOU FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME!' It makes no sense.

I have 2 kids (ages 6 and 5) and we spend a lot of time on nights and weekends doing science projects, reading, and playing with toys/games. They have never not wanted to go to school unless they were tired or sick and have always come away from it with a fun attitude, and I make them work at it when they get home. The first thing they do when they walk through the door is homework - and they all share what they've learned with everyone else and they LOVE it.

This is a luxury most kids don't have, at least in cities or poorer neighborhoods. Teachers are set up as the parents, and the school system is left baby sitting when single parents work all day/night. And when they go to school they don't have anyone familiar/enjoyable to explain why this is fun or why that's interesting, they get a stern asshole who can't crack a smile and forces them to do as they say 'or else'. Nobody likes authoritarian figures, especially ones who refuse to explain why any of what they're saying should be listened to.

 

[MC Safety]

You're right, I did mention scores. Scores is not equivalent to teaching to a test. I don't know why you keep bringing that up.

I keep bringing it up because you're putting the emphasis on scores and not on learned skills. Performance on a test does not necessarily mean a child has learned anything. And if you are an educator, you know that schools value improvements in scores because it oftentimes leads to increased funding.

As to your concerns, there is never going to be a "magic bullet" to solving the education problem in the US, but there are things you can do to help it. One is to eliminate the giant 2 1/2 month break in the middle of the year. This isn't to say that all of that time is added, but you can create more time off in other areas to accommodate for that time added. Basically, you want to eliminate the area where a lot of kids are not being instructed. The longer skills stay dormant, the more they decrease. It is also evident in assessment results of skills like reading that most kids encounter a drop off in words per minute, fluency, recognition of nonsense words, etc when they return from Summer break.

Also, as I stated previously, all kids are not adequately prepared for school, or are less prepared than their peers. This makes getting children to read at a certain level by year's end much more difficult. This isn't anyone's fault (although parental neglect certainly is). It could be due to the mom and dad having to work full time jobs in order to barely meet month's end, and the kid(s) are home alone a lot of the time, probably not doing anything to increase their knowledge.

And, again, you do not address the issue. Thanks for playing, but I'm really not interested in restating my concerns so you can dodge them.

 

[Movement]

You should be having fun all year round. Having a psychological duality of school/work summer/fun is a huge problem. There shouldn't be anything particularly tedious about school. It should be challenging, of course, but so should a video game.

Exactly. I'm trying to point out that school doesn't and shouldn't be this mind-numbing and boring that that apparently everyone here experienced. If school is done right, kids should love learning, and want to go.

Which is exactly why I mentioned that there are more fundamental problems with our schools. Everyone got fixated on the summer part and haven't bothered to delve deeper into where I'm coming from. I don't hate fun.

 

[Jimothy]

Teachers at my school taught learning as a precursor to 'getting a job' so you don't starve. That's it, that's why students hate it and feel miserable, because it's like a training course for being an adult and nothing more.

They didn't attempt to teach any level of philosophy and why learning can be fun or interesting in itself, and then you can use that knowledge to do what you want in life. Everything in my schools were rushing to teach what would be on the test. School sucks for kids because nobody wants to be forced to do something without understanding why they should do it.

I always felt this especially in history classes. History is fucking fascinating on every level, but the way you get taught in public school is all about remembering facts and dates. Every history class outside of AP US History made me want to drive my head through a wall. There was never any discussion about WHY anything happened or how it was relevant to today's time. It was basically just "so and so did this at this point in time", then you memorize it so you do well on the test. Public school takes something that should be incredibly interesting and dynamic like history and turns it into something cold and utterly boring.

 

[ProfessorLobo]

So if they love to learn, why do we threaten/punish them? What are we punishing them with if they don't learn? I just fundamentally disagree with you.

They don't love to learn the things we teach them, and it frustrates us. Teachers spend 8 hours a day answering questions that no one asks. What we punish them with should be obvious enough in the grading system, although it's much deeper than that. It's very easy to internalize the education system and believe the that your value as a person is based on your GPA. People really underestimate the insidiousness of it.

 

[Phoenix]

I do hope it lasts for your kids, you seem to have a vested interest in their education. What school do they go to?

Discovery Academy in Atlanta.

When I went through my divorce the one thing that I wanted (and was granted by the judge) more than anything else was rights to decide their education. I want them to love it. I don't particularly care if they are straight A students - I care that they learn, can think for themselves, and can learn on their own (the most important part).

When they take on projects by themselves and just wake me up with some creation of theirs, I feel that I'm doing it right.

Could give two shits if they have 4.0 GPAs.

 

[Zhengi]

I'm assuming he means school should be seen as fun and interesting too, and if it isn't then we have a problem because then students won't want to learn. I completely agree with this, but don't know how anyone can blame the students for this.

Summer break is fun because there's nobody forcing you to do something you don't want to do, and taking that away from kids is punishing them for something that isn't their fault. 'YOU'RE NOT LEARNING WELL ENOUGH, SO WE'RE GONNA FORCE YOU FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME!' It makes no sense.

Why are you looking at more school = punishment? Why aren't you looking at more school = more education and more opportunity to learn more? No one is saying take away summer breaks to punish kids. In fact, the argument is that kids should go to school more to get more education and have less down time to forget the things they learn.

 

[Dastardly Jerks]

You should be having fun all year round. Having a psychological duality of school/work summer/fun is a huge problem. There shouldn't be anything particularly tedious about school. It should be challenging, of course, but so should a video game.

The problem here isn't perception, it's environment. Perception can only go so far in assisting students and workers make the most of their environment. If you're in a run-down school surrounded by kids that are determined to not give a shit, that's influential. If you're in a drab grey office surrounded by boring people doing tedious work, that's influential. You could be the most interesting teacher in the world, but as soon as you have two kids up the back mouthing off then that just creates a snowball effect that results in people losing focus.

Challenge is the only thing we can take away as reward. It gratifies us mentally. But if you have influences in your environment that detract from the challenge and make it more difficult to focus, then next thing you know you're back to square one and looking at your environment as anything but a pleasure to be in.

I'm assuming he means school should be seen as fun and interesting too, and if it isn't then we have a problem because then students won't want to learn. I completely agree with this, but don't know how anyone can blame the students for this.

Summer break is fun because there's nobody forcing you to do something you don't want to do, and taking that away from kids is punishing them for something that isn't their fault. 'YOU'RE NOT LEARNING WELL ENOUGH, SO WE'RE GONNA FORCE YOU FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME!' It makes no sense.

Exactly. And we all know that the more you 'force' and 'repress' kids, the less likely they are to cooperate and ultimately loathe learning even more.

Summer break is when you get to experience life. You get to make daily decisions and you get to learn from them. Sure you can sit around all day and soak in media that other people have created, and that just speaks volumes about who you are as a person and who you'll become. But at least you were given the opportunity to go and explore, socialise and take up a whole world of experiences that you would otherwise be forbidden from doing if you were in the usual routine. Hell how often have you gone out on a family vacation and come back with a wealth of life knowledge?

 

[Kusagari]

I always felt this especially in history classes. History is fucking fascinating on every level, but the way you get taught in public school is all about remembering facts and dates. Every history class outside of AP US History made me want to drive my head through a wall. There was never any discussion about WHY anything happened or how it was relevant to today's time. It was basically just "so and so did this at this point in time", then you memorize it so you do well on the test. Public school takes something that should be incredibly interesting and dynamic like history and turns into something cold and utterly boring.

Most classes in public schooling are just pointless memorization. I really didn't apply myself at all in high school and was in the "normal" classes, not AP or anything. Guess what every English class in high school involved?

Memorizing the definitions of a bunch of terms and reading one or two books and then answering questions on them. We almost never actually WROTE.

And they wonder why kids today can't write respectably.

 

[Foffy]

People don't live to work.

In America they do.

 

[rCIZZLE]

In America they do.

People work as much as they do because they have to.

 

[The Albatross]

Obviously lately American public schools have been lacking in teaching children the skill sets needed to be competitive in the global picture, especially in STEM subjects.

Just correcting this one thing that is so often repeated, and not completely reliable. If you break American schools down by state, then many states in the US are some of the highest performing around the world, even in subjects like STEM. For instance, Florida students are some of the highest performers in math, science, and literacy when compared internationally, besting countries like Finland and Singapore -- which generally top the international lists (despite, even, that Florida is about 4x larger than both and has far more diverse demographics).

There was a story about this on NPR recently, where if you break out many US states, many of which have about the same population numbers as those that top the high performing countries, the perception that the US performs poorly is challenge. There are several states, though, that perform so poorly that it brings the US down out of the top 15.

That being said, summer time shouldn't be considered a time to take off from learning -- which many students do. You can be out of school for 2 months, but that doesn't mean you have to stop learning.

People work as much as they do because they have to.

Yeah, wouldn't it be great if nobody ever had to work? Imagine all the free time we'd have!!

 

[ProfessorLobo]

Discovery Academy in Atlanta.

When I went through my divorce the one thing that I wanted (and was granted by the judge) more than anything else was rights to decide their education. I want them to love it. I don't particularly care if they are straight A students - I care that they learn, can think for themselves, and can learn on their own (the most important part).

When they take on projects by themselves and just wake me up with some creation of theirs, I feel that I'm doing it right.

Could give two shits if they have 4.0 GPAs.

That's great. I feel like education for young kids is a lot better than when they grow older, and Montessori schools are generally pretty excellent.

But I think my description of school still stands for a normal 10-18 year old. There's a reason Montessori schools stop existing once kids reach a certain age.

 

[Dastardly Jerks]

People work as much as they do because they have to.

Exactly. As a culture you've set the bar to "Live to work".

 

[Tuck]

This is the kind of thing a cold-hearted, no Santa cookie eating, soulless husk of a man thinks about. Summer break was the only reason to live as a child, why on Earth would you want to strip that away?

They'll grow up soon enough and be relegated to the daily grind, the no vacation time infested job market all too soon. Let them be children.

This.

American schools need a quality adjustment, not a quantity adjustment.

 

[Phoenix]

The problem here isn't perception, it's environment. Perception can only go so far in assisting students and workers make the most of their environment. If you're in a run-down school surrounded by kids that are determined to not give a shit, that's influential. If you're in a drab grey office surrounded by boring people doing tedious work, that's influential. You could be the most interesting teacher in the world, but as soon as you have two kids up the back mouthing off then that just creates a snowball effect that results in people losing focus.

Challenge is the only thing we can take away as reward. It gratifies us mentally. But if you have influences in your environment that detract from the challenge and make it more difficult to focus, then next thing you know you're back to square one and looking at your environment as anything but a pleasure to be in.

What I will say in response will sound harsh and I know that my mom and I debate it from time to time (she's been teaching Kindergarten-1st grade for over 40 years now). I don't think that the school system should be focussed on pushing kids forward through the system. We aren't doing them a service - we're making the problem worse. The kids that are disruptions should be removed from class and if their parents can't resolve the issue then there needs to be a penalty for the PARENT. Far too often we scapegoat the schools/teachers when the problem is really with the student/parent. Then we will do stuff like "No Child Left Behind" which encourages schools to find ways (including teaching - Atlanta/Fulton County schools were recently caught changing answers on tests for students) to make sure that the students keep moving up... and they aren't ready. They get frustrated because nobody really cares and they disrupt everyone else.

I say fuck it - you need to penalize the parent (with jail if necessary) as a form of child abuse if you can't get your child to properly participate in the system. I don't care about your income, I don't care about your job, I don't care about your social situation. You are responsible for this child and YOU are a parent need to make sure the problem is solved or you need to suffer the consequences of that action.

 

[bonercop]

Why are you looking at more school = punishment? Why aren't you looking at more school = more education and more opportunity to learn more? No one is saying take away summer breaks to punish kids. In fact, the argument is that kids should go to school more to get more education and have less down time to forget the things they learn.

Shouldn't we try to fix school rather than berate kids for not giving a shit? Instead of changing "perception", we should strive to fix the circumstances that create them.

What I will say in response will sound harsh and I know that my mom and I debate it from time to time (she's been teaching Kindergarten-1st grade for over 40 years now). I don't think that the school system should be focussed on pushing kids forward through the system. We aren't doing them a service - we're making the problem worse. The kids that are disruptions should be removed from class and if their parents can't resolve the issue then there needs to be a penalty for the PARENT. Far too often we scapegoat the schools/teachers when the problem is really with the student/parent. Then we will do stuff like "No Child Left Behind" which encourages schools to find ways (including teaching - Atlanta/Fulton County schools were recently caught changing answers on tests for students) to make sure that the students keep moving up... and they aren't ready. They get frustrated because nobody really cares and they disrupt everyone else.

I say fuck it - you need to penalize the parent (with jail if necessary) as a form of child abuse if you can't get your child to properly participate in the system. I don't care about your income, I don't care about your job, I don't care about your social situation. You are responsible for this child and YOU are a parent need to make sure the problem is solved or you need to suffer the consequences of that action.

I don't think the solution to the usual "ignore the issue, keep them through our terrible one-size-fits-all-system" is to eject the kids from the system. It's to change the system.

 

[Lamel]

Who the fuck gets 2.5 months? I got 8 weeks max in H.S.

In college we get like 3 months though (but a lot of people take summer classes and/or work).

 

[Paches]

I keep bringing it up because you're putting the emphasis on scores and not on learned skills. Performance on a test does not necessarily mean a child has learned anything. And if you are an educator, you know that schools value improvements in scores because it oftentimes leads to increased funding.



And, again, you do not address the issue. Thanks for playing, but I'm really not interested in restating my concerns so you can dodge them.

I mention scores because you have to, at some point, assess the skill. You determine their skill level with a score, not with what you "think" they are capable of. Only certain tests (usually whatever the state standardized one) lead to funding changes. I am not talking about those. I am talking about a test that is comprised of a kid reading a passage and the teacher scoring for accuracy/fluency/speed.

Also, I did address your concern. From what I gather, you wanted to know why the given time isn't sufficient. My answer is a lot of the problem has to do with under prepared children coming in to the classroom. More instruction time equates to more learning (to a certain level).

 

[Phoenix]

That's great. I feel like education for young kids is a lot better than when they grow older, and Montessori schools are generally pretty excellent.

But I think my description of school still stands for a normal 10-18 year old. There's a reason Montessori schools stop existing once kids reach a certain age.

Huge Montessori fan, although I didn't send my kids there. I wanted there to be a little bit more direction - though I am starting to rethink that as I watch them mature. The one benefit that I saw to Montessori is that it encourages the child to self-direct, that they are responsible for their own education. They know what they have to accomplish and how often they have to accomplish it, and the teacher is just there to guide them and answer questions. I have found those students to be far more confident and fearless when faced with unfamiliar challenges.

Its a wonderful system, but it just didn't feel right for the kids at 2-3.

 

[rCIZZLE]

Yeah, wouldn't it be great if nobody ever had to work? Imagine all the free time we'd have!!

I think you missed "as much".

 

[Dastardly Jerks]

What I will say in response will sound harsh and I know that my mom and I debate it from time to time (she's been teaching Kindergarten-1st grade for over 40 years now). I don't think that the school system should be focussed on pushing kids forward through the system. We aren't doing them a service - we're making the problem worse. The kids that are disruptions should be removed from class and if their parents can't resolve the issue then there needs to be a penalty for the PARENT. Far too often we scapegoat the schools/teachers when the problem is really with the student/parent. Then we will do stuff like "No Child Left Behind" which encourages schools to find ways (including teaching - Atlanta/Fulton County schools were recently caught changing answers on tests for students) to make sure that the students keep moving up... and they aren't ready. They get frustrated because nobody really cares and they disrupt everyone else.

I say fuck it - you need to penalize the parent (with jail if necessary) as a form of child abuse if you can't get your child to properly participate in the system. I don't care about your income, I don't care about your job, I don't care about your social situation. You are responsible for this child and YOU are a parent need to make sure the problem is solved or you need to suffer the consequences of that action.

I completely agree with you. It all begins at home, and that's where issues are most commonly being ignored.

 

[The Albatross]

It's interesting that the people who criticize test scores when it comes to judging a students aptitude within the United States (when it comes to things like college admission, financial aid, federal or state funding, etc), are usually the first to complain about the poor performance of American students internationally ... which are all based on test scores.

 

[Zhengi]

Shouldn't we try to fix school rather than berate kids for not giving a shit? Instead of changing "perception", we should strive to fix the circumstances that create them.

How is taking away summer break not fixing part of the problem? Kids are in school more learning rather than sitting at home 2.5 months of the year rotting their brains away in front of the tv. Kids are less likely to be out getting into trouble.

Why do you think families with money do extra lessons and extracurricular activities during the summer break? Do you think families with money let their kids rot in front of the tv?

Summer break affects the poor the most. They can't afford to send their kids to study during those months and they are too busy to care for them.

 

[The Albatross]

I think you missed "as much".

I'm just shuddering to think of all of the education spending we'd have to eliminate if everybody retired at, say, 55.

*edit*

or if everybody had a 30 hour work week.

 

[Foffy]

People work as much as they do because they have to.

I never said it's wrong for people to work as much as they do, but much of American culture is about living to work, not working to live. I don't think it should be that way.

 

[Dr.Palutena]

I think the current school system is in need of reform including how we handle breaks, but this is one of those things I expect to not happen for a long time for the very reactions being seen in this thread.

 

[bonercop]

How is taking away summer break not fixing part of the problem? Kids are in school more learning rather than sitting at home 2.5 months of the year rotting their brains away in front of the tv. Kids are less likely to be out getting into trouble.

Why do you think families with money do extra lessons and extracurricular activities during the summer break? Do you think families with money let their kids rot in front of the tv?

Summer break affects the poor the most. They can't afford to send their kids to study during those months and they are too busy to care for them.

Hasn't been my experience at all. My teachers were all dogshit and they couldn't care less about their students doing well. I've seen countless peers drop out who wouldn't if teachers gave a shit. It wasn't until I got into Academia that I started getting non-crappy teachers.

Is this an assumption or can you back that up with data? I'm not sure I buy that, but I'm not American so maybe things are different there.

 

[TheExodu5]

God no. The engineering department at my school does year-round here and while it had perks it was basically miserable.

With next to no free time (2 one week breaks twice a year and Christmas) I didn't have nearly as much time to devote to personal projects. While you're in high school it's nice to have the break so that you can get a job.

I did year round throughout university. 5 years of my life with no more than a week off at a time...usually much less.

 

[threetri333]

I would propose reducing Summer Break to a month and have at most a 4 day school week.

 

[The Albatross]

How is taking away summer break not fixing part of the problem? Kids are in school more learning rather than sitting at home 2.5 months of the year rotting their brains away in front of the tv. Kids are less likely to be out getting into trouble.

Why do you think families with money do extra lessons and extracurricular activities during the summer break? Do you think families with money let their kids rot in front of the tv?

Summer break affects the poor the most. They can't afford to send their kids to study during those months and they are too busy to care for them.

I agree with the sentiment here, but I think there is a cultural question here too. You don't need to send your kid to study during the summer to facilitate learning. Schools having an expectation that a student will read a book during the summer, and parents/parent following through on that would make a tremendous impact. And it would generally cost nothing.

 

[rCIZZLE]

I never said it's wrong for people to work as much as they do, but much of American culture is about living to work, not working to live. I don't think it should be that way.

From my experience it's the latter. People on their way to work don't exactly look happy. They're only working to support their lifestyle.

 

[SummitAve]

I believe summer breaks are incredibly valuable and important to the development of youth. I don't know if there are any studies that show this, but my years riding bikes around with friends,sneaking out at night, getting into trouble, and going on adventures were important social experiences that taught me a lot about what truly is important in life.

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

Studies in the past have shown that kids generally learn at equal rates during the school year but the ones who are in poor households with uneducated parents lose much of what they learned over the year and are at a disadvantage when school starts up.

I don't think there's any real reason aside from cost for having such a lengthy summer vacation.

 

[Zhengi]

Hasn't been my experience at all. My teachers were all dogshit and they couldn't care less about their students doing well. I've seen countless peers drop out who wouldn't if teachers gave a shit. It wasn't until I got into Academia that I started getting non-crappy teachers.

Is this an assumption or can you back that up with data? I'm not sure I buy that, but I'm not American so maybe things are different there.

What exact data do you want? All you've given me is your personal anecdote and after that you are asking for proof?

I don't have any, but I'll provide you personal anecdotes as well. In the Asian community where I live all the kids are expected to go to school during the summer breaks either to the local community college, church, or where ever. There is no downtime for Asian kids and they seem to do well once school starts up again. I know for sure I will be sending my kids to the local community college for extra classes and sending them out of the house for extra curricular activities in the community.

I agree with the sentiment here, but I think there is a cultural question here too. You don't need to send your kid to study during the summer to facilitate learning. Schools having an expectation that a student will read a book during the summer, and parents/parent following through on that would make a tremendous impact. And it would generally cost nothing.

I agree that parents are a big part of the solution, but what about parents who are not able to read a book to their kids either from having to work or not understanding the language or for whatever reason life throws at them? I think in poorer communities this could be an actual benefit to have kids in school longer.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

They could redistribute breaks throughout the year if instead of 2.5 months in a row. Have like three weeks of class, then one week off or something

 

[ChuyMasta]

FUck that! This would mean a lot of things for teachers

 

[FairyD]

Take out summer breaks. Make the school week Monday/Tuesday Thursday/Friday with Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday the off days.

 

[Protein]

I vote for 3 day weekend as well.

 

[t26]

FUck that! This would mean a lot of things for teachers

A lot of teacher would like that actually, because it sucks to get not get paid for like 3 months.

 

[bonercop]

What exact data do you want? All you've given me is your personal anecdote and after that you are asking for proof?

You said the poor suffer the most from summer break, and I explained why I'm skeptical about that idea. Anecdotes don't mean anything, yeah, but I wasn't trying to convince you of my opinion. Just trying to relate why I don't agree with you and what it would take to convince me.

 

[Dr.Palutena]

They could redistribute breaks throughout the year if instead of 2.5 months in a row. Have like three weeks of class, then one week off or something

Yes, I think the "eliminate summer break" argument gets lost because people attribute it with literally taking that time and applying more school time to it, I think there are many ways we can use the current allocation of break and school days that could still lead to improved retention rates , a more efficient system and a number of other benefits.

 

[EdibleExplosives]

No. Let kids have some enjoyment before having to work with barely any holidays.