Promoters of Balanced Calendar/ Year-Round School try devaluing the traditional school year by dismissing it as an old farming schedule. They claim we have summers off due to children needing to help on the farms. Once again… research shows this is absolutely false and ridiculous. Ask any farmer if all their work is done in the summer….
In reality, the traditional calendar with summers off came to be because it works. It unifies school districts, schedules, aides in military children's transitions, and provides positive aspects such as a longer term for kids to recoup, hold summer jobs, and the like. Not to mention the heat makes it an ideal time… both in the past and in the future with warming temperatures. Look globally and one can see multiple countries revolve their school years around their summer months.
”By misidentifying the roots of the current calendar, reformers fail to grapple with the fact that the same factors — budget crunches, demands for time off, concerns about over stressing students — still exist today. And absent addressing them, efforts to change the school year are likely to fail.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/09/04/myth-behind-summer-break/
“Administrators and reformers (in both types of districts) were looking for ways to maximize and improve their educational resources.”
https://www.shraboise.com/2014/08/82914-a-brief-history-of-school-summer-vacation/
“They have year-round school in other countries” … is another fallacy commonly heard to encourage year-round school. Some form of a break for transition between years is common in all countries. Ranging from 6 to as high as 16 weeks. These typically revolve around their summer weather.
https://jakubmarian.com/school-holidays-by-country-in-europe-map/
As there are also differences in length of school days, amount of time focused on education during the school day, and other sociological differences, simply comparing a summer break is a futile comparison.
Lacey, Wa
Copyright © 2024 Balanced Calendar in Schools: Facts and Findings - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.