Should summer vacation be shortened or canceled?

Question

This applies to highschool students and lower education, not college because many college students work to provide for themselves and even take summer classes.

I remember my teacher telling me that the origin summer "vacation" was designed so that kids, after they were done with the school year could head back home to help their parents with work such as farming.

We now know today most of the working class are not farmers nor do they have jobs that require their children to assist them to provide a better quality life.

My teacher said that the education system in the united states is outdated and that summer vacation should be removed or reduced so that kids can be more productive during the summer.

I have also heard that summer vacation allows teens to have work experience and spend time with friends developing a priceless experience.

What are your views?

Answer 1

I live for summer vacation.

- teacher 31 years.

Answer 2

I loved summer vacation as a child and as a teacher.  I am not necessarily in the majority though.  There is real merit to having a year long school schedule.  Students go to school for 6 weeks and then are off for 4 weeks.  A lot of teachers like this because students don't forget the skills and concepts they've learned.  Some teachers also do extra tutoriing during the "off" times.

Answer 3

Quite frankly, after spending each day in the classroom teaching, I need those summer months off just to regain my own sanity. It often takes me two weeks just to relax and slow down. I spend part of my summer months traveling across continents to visit family and stay with them for a month. I spend the rest of the time taking college coursework and preparing for the next school year. If I didn't have two months in the summer, I would never be able to do this without remaining stressed out.

Answer 4

There are a lot of 'schools' of thought on this subject. The main one says that students lose a lot of knowledge during the summer and have to spend more time reviewing at the beginning of the year. I am for the year 'round formula, which isn't exactly year 'round. Basically students have the same amount of time off but it is divided throughout the year instead of being lumped together in the summer. This gives students sufficient time off without having long lapses in the educational process.

Answer 5

I am a student and I would die without a summer vacation. I love to just relax all day...sleep till noon...do whatever I want (that I am allowed to do of course)...and hang out with friends. I love to have a break from school and I would hate to lose it.

Answer 6

In my opinion, the idea of breaking up summer vacation is simply a precipitous reaction to declining test scores and increasingly stringent federal mandates. After all, it would logically seem that since students aren't at school receiving instruction during the summer months, that time must be going to waste. Summer is the perfect scapegoat for any sort of problem in the educational system, as it seems "outdated", given its agrarian origins. Some educators, eager to appear "progressive", challenge the institution of summer, proposing their own "forward" solutions. They portray the abolition of vacation as the panacea for all of society's ills. This could not be farther from the truth. Contrary to popular belief, summer serves several important purposes for school-aged children. After a hard year's work, summer is a much-needed break from their hectic schedules. It creates a sort of "work and reward" system; students "work" all year, and as a "reward" receive time off. Likewise, those students who perform poorly and receive mediocre grades are given a chance for redemption via summer school. In the absence of a single summer vacation, the students' success loses its meaning; the difference between grades becomes not a matter of advancement so much as a nominal increment. If school doesn't "start" in September and "end" in June, the years begin to muddle together and become less memorable. Students can no longer say "Oh! We learned this last year!", as there are no longer any "years" to speak of. Thus, school seems far more like a prison sentence lasting the duration of childhood rather than a bastion of learning. At least with summer, students are granted the illusion of freedom and an attainable date of departure at some point in June, regardless of the fact that this "freedom" lasts for only 3 months. Shorten this to a meager four weeks, and what can result but a sense of being cheated? Summer loses its abstract, timeless appeal, as children are forced to watch their time trickle away like sand in a sieve. It's hard to imagine Alice Cooper singing, "School's out for the second four-week semester break!” Sure, you can have some fun in a few weeks, but I would forever mourn the passing of summer as a time of relaxation. Summer defines childhood; take it away and you expunge a piece of America, too.

Namaste.