What is the purpose of Summer Vacation?
We no longer need the kiddies for harvest and the 3 months off just fades out what they are learning.
It would serve better to end the summer vacation and perhaps give the occasional 1 or 2 week break throughout the year.

Does Summer vacation serve any valuable purpose?

Should it be ended, would it benefit students to go with a more year round schedule: earlier graduation, more time allows larger curriculum, less reramping to get back to where they were when they went on vacation?

What would be a better vacation schedule

I think summer vacation is just fine. Although I want my daughter to excel at school, I still want her to be a kid. We get to take vacations for weeks at a time without her missing school. We can take advantage of summer activities at the drop of a hat - again, without her missing school.

There are tons of things families can do with their kids when the weather is nice that aren't available when it's cold. And we do it all the time just like our friends and neighbors.

Sometimes I think people that think kids shouldn't have a summer vacation either have kids who can't get it done like the rest of the kids, or are just jealous they have to go to work everyday while the kids don't.

Don't turn school into a 12 year concentration camp. Give them time to play and be kids. That is as important a part of devleopment as anything else if you ask me.

Does Summer vacation serve any valuable purpose?

I was thinking about this a couple of weeks ago in Diney World. At the only time we have enough of a break from school to go on a real family trip it is insanely hot, and the parks insanely crowded. It reminded me of Italy in August (the month the entire country takes off).

Should it be ended, would it benefit students to go with a more year round schedule: earlier graduation, more time allows larger curriculum, less reramping to get back to where they were when they went on vacation?

I wouldn't add curriculum or days to the yearly schedule. What I would do is change the schedule to permit more vacation time during the year, perhaps in three week incriments, rather than consolidating it all into a huge three month period during the hottest months when it isn't pleasant to go outside during the day anyway. I think France does it this way (I should probably look that up)...but the children (from what I've been told) have only a four day school week as well. I prefer the five day week.

I'm with DaytonRocker on this one (whoa! ) - let kids be kids. There are already many schools on a "year-round" schedule, where kids get 1 or 2 weeks off every quarter or so. I believe this is mainly for the parents' and the school staff's convenience, not for any real educational purpose. Three continous months of child care can be stressful for some families, while a week or two is far more manageable.

I'd be curious to see what kids had to say about it - especially those in year-round programs who have also been on the 9-month schedule. I'm sure someone somewhere must've done a test....

I have fond memories of summer vacations. My knowledge/studies didn't suffer as a result. But then again, I'm an old fart, and things were probably different way back when.

Does Summer vacation serve any valuable purpose?

Sure it does. It lets kids out of the rigid classroom structure and gives them time to just be goofy and silly and do fun things. Fun is underrated. These days parents schedule their kids' lives like they're miniature workers on the fast track to CEO or something. The burnout seen in the US corporate world ought to be enough of a lesson that working 24/7 is dangerous to one's health and well-being.

Should it be ended, would it benefit students to go with a more year round schedule

No, I don't think it should be "ended". I think parents/kids should have a choice of year-round or 9 month schedules; whatever works best for all involved.

Edited to add:

Oh, wow, here's a page with a whole bunch of links to sites/studies on Year-round vs. traditional school schedules. I don't have time right now to go thru them all, but it looks like there's some good stuff.

I think if you eliminate summer vacation you'll see a lot of the summer sports leagues go away. I don't believe young kids can really handle a day at school and then go home and go to soccer practice, they'd just get worn out way too fast. Plust they'd only have time to commit to one or two activities. I know in summer I would be on a soccer team, basketball team, and a baseball/t-ball team. These leagues were only through the summer. Other organizations like the YMCA will offer summer classes in things like Karate, art classes, music leasons or something else that allows kids to try a wide variety of activities. Kids learn lots of very important social skills through these activities, hopefully enjoy them enough so they stick with a sport or two growing up which makes them less likely to get involved in drugs and crime, and keeps kids active and healthy (Obesity in kids has reached epidemic levels.)

Have to say that as a kid I would have loved a 4 day on and 3 day off school week. Throw in regular 2 week vacations every 2 months or so and life would have been Sweet
After Christmas life gets dull waiting for vacation it became Bueller, bueller......


Is there any advantage to 3 months off?
as for letting kids be kids...PuhLease, thats all we ask of our kids today. They don't have to do anything at all if they don't want to. Try an see a movie at night on a weekend. Its the teen version of young and the restless in the parking lot. Although I got to admit watching the ones who think they are all THAT is hilarious.
I have to admit I would probably laugh at the 16 yo me--I have looked at those pictures and asked "What WAS I thinking"
Do they really gain anything from it? social skills? What skills do they gain during summer break?

As for summer sport leagues, most leagues to my experience are geared toward the school year when you can consistently get kids together regularly.

just seems a waste

Summer vacation? Sorry, I don't like the idea of canceling that. It allows children a chance at childhood, an escape from the expectations of testing and grading for two months just to hang out with other kids, or play at a creek, or experience something that...is lost as we get older.

I wouldn't eliminate summer vacation. But it definately needs to be shortened, at both the K-12 level and the College level. It should be evident that the educational standards in America's education system need to be raised and lengthening the school year by 1 more month can give the kids a little more time in the school year to really master the stuff they need to learn.

I agree with the other posters that kids need time to be kids. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be using that time for baseball league or skateboarding. The obesity rate among youngsters is just as bad as the test scores.

I say lengthen the school year by 1 month, and have the schools work on making our youngsters both physically and mentally fit.

Adding to the time spent in school isn't the answer. I live with a 4th grader. The state of education needs to be changed, not so much the way it is implemented. We are failing to create a systme that educates children not only in basics, but in conceptual analysis and in well-roundedness.

Adding a month to school will only create a greater amount of kids feeling "burnt out"



Obesity is a growing problem in an America, however, part of the issue is that as school, we are hammering kids with a lot of work that isn't necessary in many cases. My little brother, the child doesn't spent much time doing anything else but the piles of homework he gets as an average 4th grader.




Yeah, but the big question is to what extent do we want our schools raising our children for us? I don't agree so much that schools should be a third parent in the process, but should work with parents to help create a healty and vibrant childhood atmosphere that promotes learning and self-responsibiity.

Extending the school year by one month only adds to the time we deal with the problem, it doesn't do much to reform the problem.

Fernando, the Elementary kids in America seem to do well academically compared to students from other countries. And your kid brother's homework seems to reflect that. I'm concerned that the High School students and the College students are not spending enough time in school. I can say that I went to a good high school and a good college. I actually studied for several hours a day after school and can say that the material wasn't easy. But by the time the school year finished, we never finished the textbooks. Were the teachers easy on us? No, they weren't. But the fact that we never finished the books raises the question of whether the students actually mastered the material or not.

Do American schoolkids really need 3 months of vacation? Under a hot blistering summer, the temptation is for kids to sit inside and watch TV. And after 3 months, kids often forget the material and have to spend time getting refreshed on the old material instead of learning new things. Now, there is room for compromise. For example, the summer classroom days could be shorter to give kids more time for swimming and riding bikes. You raise the question of whether schools should do the parenting for us. By default, they do a lot of that for society. Parents usually get much shorter vacations than parents. What that means is the kids spend the rest of vacation time with other kids, or a babysitter who's not much older.

Shortening vacation time is not the magic pill that's going to cure society's ills. But its a step in the right direction.

Firstly. kids no longer get three months of vacation...at least in my neck of the woods they don't. They get about two months. But...

If you ignore the huge economic pitfalls to year-round schooling (installing airconditioning, transportation costs, building maintenance, etc...) you are still overlooking countless other non-school related educational opportunities that people avail themselves of during the vacation.

People go to camps, summer sports leagues, scouting, police/fire programs, early ROTC programs, travel opportunities, employment opportunities ...the list is much longer!
Of all of the education available to a youngster I'd venture to say that maybe half of it will come through schooling.

Also, the disintegration of the American family is a major problem right now. As it is, during the school eyar the average student spends about 80% more time each week with their teachers than they do with parents. Our lives are too full! Between school, sports, homework and friends there is little time left to building family.
In my opinion we need the downtime for our children to reconnect with their parents and vice versa.

The world does not need a generation of well-trained robots devoid of values and socially disconnected.

Hmm..now that I think about it, perhaps we should go to the four-day week

Because MAN I really hate fridays

Does Summer vacation serve any valuable purpose?

Yes. It gives students a break and time to do other things. There is no guarantee that they will do constructive things with their time, but they need it. as much as I dislike organized religion, I would point out that some ids attend vacation bible schools at various churches. The public library in Fort Worth has a summer reading program for kids. The YMCA offers activities and there are camps for kids to attend.

This is just a personal belief, but I think kids need some time to pursue unstructured activities and to learn by exploring and discovering things for themselves.

Year long school would destroy these opportunities.

Should it be ended, would it benefit students to go with a more year round schedule: earlier graduation, more time allows larger curriculum, less reramping to get back to where they were when they went on vacation?

Maybe, but this won't happen for a couple of reasons. First, teachers in Texas work on a 186 day contract. If they had to work more days they would have to be paid to teach more days. I don't know about other states, but the Texas legislature can barely find funds for 186 days.

Second, in states where weather gets extremely hot in summer, electricity to run air conditioning would be another expense looking for funding.

What would be a better vacation schedule

Fort Worth started school in mid-August - the hottest time of the year. The year will end in late May or around June 1. I think school should start after Labor Day and the days to make up for the late start, that is the days necessary to meet the current 186 day contract - should be added to June. Some families are still on vacation through Labor Day. The later start would decrease electricity needed to cool buildings and increase opening day attendance.

Cancel summer vacation!?!?!?!?!?
As a college student myself, I couldn't imagine having school year round, and I'm sure most, if not all, of my peers would agree. There is no way I could maintain my academic schedule all year without burning out, and I think you will find that many students will tell you the same.
Summer vacation does however serve some valuable purposes other than simple rest and recuperation. Many students need to use their flexible summer hours to cram in as much work as they can. We all know that college is not cheap, and a student is much more limited as to how much they can work during the academic year. Second, what about summer school? Many students need the opportunity to catch up if they fall behind. Without opportunities like summer school, students who fall behind even a little will have very little chance of catching up. Third, what about study abroad and internships? As a student athlete, the only time that I would be able to do any type of study abroad program would be during the summer when I have no other academi or athletic obligations. Fourth, what about the the professors and the work that they produce to improve their fields? Can they be expected to publish the same quantity and quality of research and literature if they must teach year-round without their free summer months?

I believe that it does. It allows families to take their children to various states and foreign countries, which in and of itself, is quite an educationale experience. Perhaps it's something that a lot of people need to engage in more often.



I believe that year round schooling with two to three week breaks every nine weeks or so would be a good system to use. It would allow families to go on vacation, yet allow students to not "lose" all the learning they did, simply because it's summer time and they now have time to watch jackass 24/7.

I believe that Summer vacation is very precious for children. It is a time when they can finally relax and do the things they want to do (whether it is playing with marbles, running around and playing with their friends etc) When I was young I always looked forward for Summer holiday. It was the best time of the year!!
Although education is important, children also need relaxation time to do what they want.

Does Summer vacation serve any valuable purpose?
Gives parents time to take the family on trips etc.

Should it be ended, would it benefit students to go with a more year round schedule: earlier graduation, more time allows larger curriculum, less reramping to get back to where they were when they went on vacation?
No but it should be shortened. The cruel reality is this. In the 60s when the US had one of the best education systems in the industrial world we had the longest school day and the longest school year of all industrial nations. Today we have the shortest school day and year in the industrial world. Little wonder our kid do poorly when compared to other industrial nations.

What would be a better vacation schedule
IMO the mount of August. And lets cut some of the ‘breaks”. They add up to over a month a year.

1.) Indeed. I'm a Sophomore at an arts school and let me tell you, I wouldn't be alive without the summer looming months away. I am engaged in three AP courses and I'm about to fry my brains out pulling A's in them all. Japan: Year-round school. Japan: Very high suicide rate among high schoolers.

2.) Not really. All people need time to regroup before the next plunge. Five days straight of seven hours with one half hour break at best coupled with other events, jobs, etc. just is an insane amount to thrust upon any person and expect them not to need the time to regather for three months.

3.) I like it just the way it is.

Does Summer vacation serve any valuable purpose?


On the college level, the break is a chance to work hard, pay for school and keep the american engine running!


What would be a better vacation schedule

If we did cancel it, I would be in favor of fewer, lighter, and more interest-based classes over the summer, and more tough, work-heavy requirements in the fall. Let the summer be a chance for high school and college students to pursue their interests, then smash them full of mathematics in the fall, winter, spring, all those James Taylor-sounding seasons.

Does Summer vacation serve any valuable purpose? It does. During school year the student is stressed with exams and reports.

This gives their mind some time to relax and get everything together again.

Should it be ended, would it benefit students to go with a more year round schedule: earlier graduation, more time allows larger curriculum, less reramping to get back to where they were when they went on vacation?

In a way this would probley be the best for students, but like I said there needs to be alot of time allotted for the students.

What would be a better vacation schedule
September 1-June 1 with intermitted breaks. Also students should allow to be opted for an early school time. Like 7:00-1:00 instead of the traditional 8-2

Yo, I should add: down south we could not manage school in the summer. I don't know if any of you attended an Atlanta Public School. Those things are hot. And the air conditioning is controlled downtown, in some impossible to telephone office, amidst some esoteric system of garble tarble bureaucratic sdfsdfsdf.

Dag.

Does Summer vacation serve any valuable purpose?

It gives teachers a vacation.

EDIT: It helps tourism, actually. But if tourism weren't so dependent on summer or winter time, resorts and parks could be visited more throughout the year, with less inundation by tourists taking place at highly selective times.

Should it be ended, would it benefit students to go with a more year round schedule: earlier graduation, more time allows larger curriculum, less reramping to get back to where they were when they went on vacation?

A more year-round schedule would reduce the educational backsliding that grade schoolers experience. There wouldn't have to be that period of trying to get kids reaccustomed to learning and following a set schedule.

What would be a better vacation schedule?

I think that brief vacation periods in every season would be preferable, as long as students weren't required to sit in heat of 80 degrees or more while attending classes.

Obviously, most people in the United States are not farmers any more, so kids aren't needed to work the crops in the summertime. Besides, isn't that what all these "undocumented workers" are for?

If we have any hope of preparing students adequately and responsibly for the challenges awaiting them in adult life, we have to do a better job than we have been doing. An excess of leisure time to the detriment of their educational experience is irresponsible for the people we hope will take the reins when we older people are no longer able to.

I think that too many people are living under the illusion that education is somehow the key ingredient to success in adult life. While it is clear that people make more per year as their level of education increases there is no reason to believe that the intensity of the education has anything to do with it.
In fact, it is the experience of most people in business that, no matter the education level of a person they hire, intense training is required to make them into productive employees!

Call me crazy, but it is my opinion that education (the first 12 years of it anyway) serves mainly to stabilize most American kids and to give them only a foundation. Their values, determination and support system is the "stuff" that leads them to success in life. Isn't this, afterall, the American Dream???

Schools don't make motivated, "out of the box" thinkers....families do. Neighborhoods can. Even churches can.

Certainly, while undergoing the process of K-12 education, a student can be challenged to reach higher levels of thinking and understanding. Really though, how many people here can argue that the English and history lessons they received in middle school and high school made them the successful individuals they are today?

I would argue that the filter of Adulthood is the single most educational tool we have in our lives.


Also, it is important to consider that the statistics for American education are skewed tremendously by the enormous, segregated populations of poor people. Socioeconomic status and educational success are undeniably intertwined. We would do more for education to worry about raising people out of poverty (or at least mitigating the effects of it). Focusing so narrowly on schools and ignoring the populations that enter them is a bonified snipe hunt.

For that reason I stick with my original post: There is so much that can be done to make kids (families really) more worldly and well-adjusted that cannot happen in a classroom.
Perhaps we should be debating the possibilities of enriching poor Americans' lives during the long vacations rather than hoping that more time in a classroom is the easy panacea?

So what would be the way to enrich those lives? I agree longer periods of time are not the answer, I just think the summer break is too long and would be better broken up over the year. As for the constant let the kids be kids response from so many

Oh for cryin out loud gimme a break with that noise. We ask little from our kids. They are required to do very little and get to spend the majority of their time pursuing nothing but being kids.

For that reason I stick with my original post: There is so much that can be done to make kids (families really) more worldly and well-adjusted that cannot happen in a classroom.

Does Summer vacation serve any valuable purpose?

I'm 17 years old and a Senior in High School, and I can't begin to tell you how important summer vacation is for me. Five years ago my dad lost his job after 6 years of reliable service (while we were living overseas no less) and we were forced to start all over. Now he works with the Fire Department, my mother owns a retail store, and they are struggling to pay the bills around here, along with one college student, soon to be two.

A lot of my friends don't have jobs, because their parents are pulling in six figure incomes. They drive new cars, wear brand name clothes, and carry their parents' credit cards. I don't have those luxuries. My parents combined don't make six figures; I paid for my Jeep and the clothes on my back; the only plastic in my wallet is a Driver's License and a debit card to my checking account. Summer vacation is the only time I have to work full-time and make enough money to live on through the year. As it is I'm working about 30 hours a week, because my parents just don't have much money to give me. I don't wish for an easier life, but that's just the way it is.

Summer vacation is best left alone, because even though a lot of people my age are just goofing off for three months, there are a few like me who need that time to work and catch up for the next school year when we go back to part-time.

Fire XJ, its great to hear your perspective. Your perserverance will help you out later in the real world but here's some fruit for thought. Hard work alone will not get you ahead in America. Employers have outsourced many American jobs over the past 2 decades. Besides blaming labor unions, they also blamed the Education System saying that too many Americans are not learning the necessary skills in school. If the Education System doesn't make drastic improvements, more Americans will find themselves working long hours for low pay. Let's face it. If you happen to be a $9/hr worker at the Walmart or the Burger King, you're competing against at least 20 other people for that shift supervisor job. If you want to be a manager and have a livable wage, you'd be competing against at least 100 other people. Without an adequate education, the odds really are against you.

But all things being equal, and I agree on motivation and family support, a better education IS better and it should be clear to you that regardless of motivation and other factors our kids get a mediocre education compared to other industrial countries – ALL of which have a longer school day and year and have had for decades.

At least with NCLB we are setting standard and testing, but this only confirms what we should have known – our schools are not up to par and we need to DO SOMETHING about it NOW.

What are you talking about? I need my kids to work in my sweatshop during the summer months. Summer vacation is a great thing. It's great for my economy. The kids learn a value skill too, and a valuable lesson. They learn to do better in school so they won't have to work in sweatshops their whole life.

All I have to say is that you obviously haven't been a kid for a while. Kids today(like myself) have to work harder than ever as it gets harder to get accepted into a decent college. Two week breaks during the year would only serve to confuse us. Family vacations couldn't happen and only children would have to watch their younger siblings instead of relaxing, due to the short break. Also why would summer leagues be geared towards the school year if they occur in the summer? Schools have sports offered during the year, but summer sports allow kids to meet others outside their school. I wish I had all those breaks in addition to summer vacation, so kids should enjoy it while they can!





I think you're confused. He has to work in order to continue his education. Not everyone is born with money, so many teenagers have to get summer jobs to pay for college. Otherwise they very well could end up working in fast food, or some other minimum wage job until retirement

coco,

This is an interesting point that I hadn't thought about.

I would guess there are more teenages wanting summer jobs, than there are jobs available.

With college costs rapidly rising, kids do need some time to earn money. On-the-job training is involved and that's not a bad thing.

Jobs are often obtained by people who know someone with pull. I'm not sure that in all cases the kid with most needs the job get t.

Welcome. this is a good initial post.