I'd like to Have my Cake Please!

After researching year-round school, I have come to the conclusion that year-round school is the absolute better choice. Clearly, the pros outweigh the cons and it has numerous benefits. The children of America have gotten spoiled with the three month vacation that has caused the increase in delinquent acts during those months. People that want to eat all their cake up ( the antagonists of YRE) will question if year-round schooling is better while people who break the cake up into peices( the supporters of YRE) are expierencing it. So I leave you with this question,

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR CAKE, AND EAT IT TOO?

The Pros Of Year-Round Schooling

WARNING: What you are about to read may take awhile due to the numerous pros and positive affects year-round schooling has on the education system.

Overcome crowding- provides solutions to school or districts that experience overcrowding and doesn't require new buildings or temporary structures.
Avoid Costly Investments- To build new schools to house the overcrowding children in another would be costly due to capital outlay, staff, furniture, maintenance, etc. Year-round schooling would be cost-effective
Continue of Instruction- The loss of knowledge in the three- month summer vacations would be eliminated without the loss of vacation days.
Improved Student Achievement- With the continued instruction, students would be more opted to achieve higher standardized test scores as well as learning.
Intercessions- The intercessions are opportunities for remediation and enrichment. In traditional school, these opportunities only come once a year.
Class Size- It can reduce class-size so there is more one-on-one time between student and teacher.
Reduce Stress- With more frequent breaks, stress is reduced.
Reduce Juvenile Activities- With year-round schooling, students are less likely to engage in delinquent activities.
Flexible Mobility- It would make it easier for transferring students to accommodate, due to the breaks.

What's your take on Year-Round Schooling after seeing the pros?

Lily's Story: Proof of the Benefits

Lily's story is a great example of the affects year-round schooling brings. Although she is just a kindergartner, she is one of may children (of all ages) that have succeeded in school. From my research, I have concluded that " destruction of family time" is the number one reason the antagonists have, which is easily refuted with the common sense. If anything, year-round school produces more time for family vacations at different times of the year for different experiences.

Has Lily's store affected your point of view on year-round school?

Administrator and Teacher's Cry: Not Enough Vacation

The main cry of the administrators and teachers against year-round schooling is vacation time. When thinking about a majority of jobs, there is a certain number of days one can take off. That is not the case for teachers. Traditionally, they get all school holidays off, vacation time, sick leave, and most of the summer months. They must not consider the number of vacation days compared to other typical jobs. These administrators and teachers would have a absolute fit if they were in a doctor's shoes, which basically work 24-7. Some complain that they only get two weeks off a year, at the bare minimum. That is just selfish. I do agree that it takes a special person to teach our up and comming generation, but it is also a job. It's not like vacation time is took away all together. College teacher's and administrators can teach all year-round. Why can't the others?

The Kids Opinion: Young and Naive

This cartoon illustrates most children's opinion of year- round school. Most children oppose to the modified calender because they don't know all the facts. Because of the age, and the naivety of just seeing the front cover of the subject, they don't understand that they would actually get MORE breaks. They automatically think "No summer break means school all the time!" Schools in America operate on a 10- month system that was established when the U.S was a agrarian nation. They needed children to work in the fields during the summers. Now, summer vacation is thought of as a "right" of the school children when really it detours their learning abilities.

Last week, I questioned some kids in my neighborhood to see what they thought.Out of five kids, four of them were opposed to it. Here are the responses:

Child #1- I do not think we should have year-round school because we work hard in school so I think we should have some time off.
Child #2- I think kids should not go to school year round because we need the exercise and kids need their free time.
Child #3- I think that we should not have to go to school year round because we need free time with family and friends without having to sit in the classroom all year.
Child #4- I think we should have more school because we would have more opportunity's to get a job.
Child #5- I think we should have year round school for many reasons. One of the reasons are it might make kids think more and probably will make them smarter. I know kids need exercise but we have recess. It will also allow us to learn more and we will get really good jobs. Also during summer vacation we forget some things we already learn in school. This is why we should have year round school

Out of all these children, only one looked at the subject from both sides and analyzed it thoroughly.

Do you believe the adults that oppose year-round schooling are feeding off of their children's reactions?

The President Takes a Stand.

The President of The United States has now took a stand for year-round schooling. President Obama and Secretary of Education, Arne Duncn, have called the traditional school year "inadequate and outdated for 21st- century demands." Obama passed a $100 billion dollar stimulus plan for education. $5 billion dollars of that will go towards "incentives to transform public education system that produces too many high-school dropouts and too many failing urban schools."

By him doing this, many schools may reconsider switching over to the modified calender.

Do you think this will affect the movement of year-round schooling?

Readily Accepted: Why Aren't More Schools Switching Over?

Most antagonists of year- round school question it because it hasn't been readily accepted. Many have commented, "if year-round school is such a good idea, why isn't all the schools switching over." The awnser is simple, but first we have to look at some more dramatic questions alike. If democracy is such a good idea, why is it that so few countries have it or why is Christianity not accepted universally? The awnser? No matter how good a idea might be, it doesn't guarantee acceptance.School districts cannot change the school calender in one day. There has to be advocates.
Parents that have experienced year-round school usually become advocates, because they experience the benefits. The opponents usually have not. Here lies the problem in year-round school acceptance. Would you take the chance of year-round school? You have nothing to lose.



SOURCE: NAYRE