What are the pros and cons of year round schooling?

Question

I'm asking in concern to my city's public school district new idea of extended schooling.

The drop out rates are already higher than ten years ago and the district's debt is rather big so as a result the teachers have had their salaries "frozen" for five years.
There are many more problems than that but I need to know more pros and cons of year round schooling before I jump to a conclusion. I have read about it but I think there is more to it than facts.
I'll accept facts AND reasonable opinions on the topic as answers.

Answer 1

Pros:
-student learning is less choppy (not one big winter and summer break each) so that they remember more of what they are taught
-More frequent breaks from school so that it isn't so overwhelming
-Teachers have more planning time over breaks so that they are more prepared and less overwhelmed
-family vacations no longer have to be in the summer
Cons:
-say goodbye to summer camps, summer sports, etc.
-kids will whine about it for a while because it sounds so much worse


Side note: A lot of teachers get paid on a 12 month salary anyway, so year round schooling isn't about a teacher's paycheck.

Answer 2

I think that you will find that on average, the results of year round schooling (state test results, student knowledge, etc.), are not much better than the normal school year structure. The students are not going to retain any more knowledge from the classes they attended than they normally would.
It seems to me that if the purpose is to reduce overhead, i.e., salaries, increase learning and reduce drop outs, that an overhaul of the school structure is needed along with the change to year round schooling. A way to do this is to structure the school year by quarters, just like colleges do.
The school board and administration should decide the four core subjects that are to be taught during the year and each of those subjects should be a three or four hour class daily for a quarter. The curriculum for each course should include both individual and team learning and problem solving, and in the case of high school students, should include the participation of local business people as much as possible.
I hope that you can have some input in the process, even if it's at a PTA meeting. Good luck...

Answer 3

The vacations are usually short, such as summer which can last from 1 month to maybe 7 or 8 weeks at the most. It can sometimes ruin family vacations and such, since you wont have as long of a vacation as traditional school. However, there are more breaks in between the school year. If you was to add up all the days of all the vacations, you would probably have about the same amount of days that a traditional school has for summer vacation. Kids won't forget as much during vacations (hopefully). I hope this helps a little

Answer 4

For one thing, it throws people's family vacations off.( A trip to the ocean, the Rockies, the Cherokee Nation or the Grand Canyon is much more educational than dry facts, by the way.)

Also, you have the school's physical plant running 12 months instead of 9.

My own belief is that some people believe that teachers are paid for three months off, and are jealous, not knowin the facts of the matter.

Answer 5

Pros: Children don't forget all they have learned. Teachers get paid year round. Parents don't have to pay for babysitters during the summer. Children will stay out of trouble during the idle summer months.
Cons: Families don't have the opportunity to plan extended vacations. Children cannot make up failed courses to graduate on time with their fellow students.

Answer 6

If your in Highschool its going to be difficult to have a job and save for college. It's also going to be difficult to go on family vacations because everyone in your area is going to want off the same time during the summer because thats when your kids are off and if you don't get it then the kids are pissed. But on the flip side kids get to do something all year long and if your an athleate its going to be a lot easier to stay in shape year round.

Answer 7

Great deal... All Year Rund Shooling! New Zealand (Where im from) need to adopt the same attitude! NZ Teahers are lazy pricks! They want more $$$ for less work etc, etc!

Answer 8

the cons are that the main breaks are shortened but the cons are that you get more days off when other schools are in session

Answer 9

There might be Federal laws that govern this.