Around the world many students are both excited and relieved that the current academic year is about to come to an end, and that summer vacation will soon commence. This 150-year-old scene looks much the same now as it did back then. Most of them will quickly set into their summer rhythms, which will only be deterred by the start of school in the Fall. But the question remains, does this tradition still make sense today?
While many fond memories are made during this time, it proves to be quite troublesome in the eyes of education. During summer vacation, a great deal of what was learned the previous year is forgotten and must again be relearned at the start of the next year, or worse is lost altogether. This proved to be a challenge for both students and educators alike, as much of the beginning of school is spent reviewing and relearning what was taught the year prior. Having firsthand experience, I can speak quite well as to these difficulties that both I and many others have encountered. So, the question remains, how do we solve this problem?
I believe that the answer can be found in the idea of year-round schooling. In this I am not suggesting an increase in the total number of days spent in school but am rather advocating for the redistribution of the current days throughout the year. The most common method suggested is to break the school year into four 45-day quarters with 15 day breaks in between and a 30-day summer break (all terms of school days, and not including weekends). Although it does not change the number of actual days in the school year, it comes with a surprising number of benefits. Chief among these is that it would help to curb the loss of knowledge due to school breaks as now the breaks between quarters would be shorter. Because of this there would be a reduction in the amount of reteaching that must be done, which can now be put towards learning new concepts.
This change also results in a reduction of burnout due to this increased number of shorter breaks. Changes like this have the potential to alleviate stress from many students and can allow them to be more productive during them. This is very important as this generation faces a mental health crisis that is unlike anything we have ever seen. Many people, especially teens, struggle to find ways to cope. Having more year-round schooling could result in a reduction in feelings of social isolation from one’s peers. This would hopefully result in a better, more stable environment in which children could learn.
While I am aware that I am in the minority in this belief (with only about ¼ of Americans supporting my position), there is no doubt in my mind that this would only serve to improve the quality of education in the United States. We owe it to ourselves and to the future of humanity to try and give our children the best education that we can to prepare them for whatever future may lie ahead.