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The concept discussed in this article is something I often think about: year-round school! I go back and forth on the idea so I was interested to read what Dr. Lynch, an educational columnist and professor, had to say about the topic. First and foremost, I do believe that year-long school would help eliminate summer learning loss. Each September I seem to have to reteach so much that September and October are full of review (especially with the MEAP in October). Having more frequently, yet short breaks (1 or 2 weeks at a time) would give students and teachers a break without the risk of summer learning loss. Dr. Lynch also suggests that year-long school can allow for more creative projects which I think would be great! My city does have a year-round school and I know one family that attends and they love the innovated, theme based programs that are taught from time to time.
The drawbacks for me - I LOVE having my summer off! It has become so much of the American lifestyle and culture for many families. Plus, having random weeks off could be difficult for some families.
So what do I think is best? Although I love spending countless hours on the boat over the summer, I would rather work in a year-long building. I believe the schedule is more beneficial for the students, still provides enough breaks throughout the year, and would help eliminate summer loss and burn-out. Would I ever actually teach in a year-long school.... who knows! :)
What a great article. I to go bacn and forth on the idea of a year long school. I do love my summers off and with so many schools not having air conditioning here in New Jersey I can imagine having to be in the school year round would be stressful. But I do agree that there is a summer learning loss and yes september is mostly spent trying to remind them what they learned last year. I can do this becuase a lot of my students I see year after year so I will not accept the excuse of "I didn't learn that" becuase I know what I taught them. I enjoy the summer becuase it gives me time to recharge my batteries, but maybe I wouldn't need that time if I had breaks regularly throughout the year. I am not sure where I stand on this topic yet but I see there are plus sides to both.
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