Summer: 15 Days or 2 1/2 Months?

The final bell rings. It’s the last day of school, and summer has finally come! Students don’t have to think about school for at least another 2 1/2 months. That is the way it should always be. Schools should continue using the traditional calendar and not a year-round schedule. There are numerous downsides to year-round schooling. It has no positive effects on education, it adds to costs, and it disrupts the long-awaited summer vacation.

Contrary to the well-accepted belief, year-round schooling has no constructive impact on education. Most year-round schedules use the 45-15 method: 45 days of school followed by 15 days off. Because of this, there are many first and last days of school. All those transitions disrupt the learning process. Also, there is no evidence of higher test scores. Due to that, many schools that change to year-round schedules end up switching back. For example, since 1980, 95 percent of schools that tried the year-round schedule changed back to a traditional calendar. It is obvious that changing to year-round schooling does not help students; therefore, why is the change necessary?

Like any other facility, keeping a school open requires a great deal of money. When a school changes to a year-round schedule, the costs skyrocket. Keeping school open in the middle of summer requires air conditioning, and that adds significantly to the school’s expenses. The usual utility bills grow because of the additional open-school time. Finally, teachers must be paid for all the weeks they are working. With all these factors, the cost of keeping schools open becomes immensely high. For example, a high school in Arizona had a cost increase of $157,000 when they switched to year-round schooling. Some schools may not be able to handle such increases, and other schools that can handle these expenses could be doing better things with the money. Is year-round school really where the money should go?

An important part of a child’s life is summertime. With year-round schedules, students would hardly have any time to relax. During the 15-day breaks, they would be thinking about their quick return to school. It would also be difficult to coordinate family vacations with parents’ work schedules. Similarly, children would not be able to go to most summer camps. One expert, Dr. Peter Scales, says, “The biggest plus of camp is that camps help young people discover and explore their talents, interests, and values. Most schools don’t satisfy all these needs. Kids who have these kinds of [camp] experiences end up being healthier and have fewer problems.” Obviously, the summer is crucial to a child’s learning and development. Why should this invaluable part of a young person’s life be taken away?

It is evident that year-round schooling is not the best option for the school calendar. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the traditional school year. Why change something that works so well? The final bell rings. Let’s make sure this bell means that the “real” summer vacation has come.

HU9 folks, it has come to my attention that Chicago was incorrectly set at /36, when it should be /6. This lowered everyone’s score considerably, so please disregard the current print-out and refer to it only as a checklist. I will prepare a new update after Friday assignments are submitted in order to get an updated report to you for Tuesday.

My apologies for the error and delay.

1. What actually makes it worth it? Is it worth it if we learn from it?
2. How did the deaths of the people benefit Napoleon’s campaign?
3. Why did the people in power always end up getting killed ?
4. Do the people always revolt when a royal person dies?
5. After a Dictator dies, do the people always revolt, does it always end up into a bloodbath?
6. How did the deaths of the people benefit Napoleon’s campaign?
7. Why was Napoleon being a hypocrite and denouncing himself, then continuing to be the emperor?
8. Why does Napoleon believe that the roman way’s are the way to go and not something else?
9. Why did the French allow people to dictate them over and over? Why did they not revolt at the new kings and emperors?
10. Why didn’t the French Revolution happen earlier in time?  Why this time?
11. Why do you think Napoleon brought down the prices of food?
12. In what other ways was British affected by the [French] revolution?      (Food, did their economy fail? Did people rise up to change but decided ‘mmmmmm better not’?)
13. What was Napoleons lasting impact on slavery? 
14. Why did people act like nothing ever happened after Napoleon was gone?
15. Why did the French allow people to dictate them over and over? Why did they not revolt at the new kings and emperors?
16. How was the deaths of thousands of innocents related to the rise of France as an empire, and major continental player in Europe?
17. Did the fact that one person could start such a big revolution inspire other world leaders/terrors?
18. Were there people happy with the revolution at the time? Who befitted from supporting the revolution?
19. How have the calendars changed through the years?