Following Up on Arne's Summer Break Idea

At this point the video below is a little dated, but the concept is still being tossed around in Education circles. Get rid of summer break. Like most things on this blog there are two sides I can see, as a teacher, with merits on each.

Duncan's point, that the original summer break, because it was based on the farmer's calendar, and thus children would be needed out of school to help with harvesting, is now outdated, could seem like common sense. We suffer as a country by having so few days in school compared to our international peers. Heck, I feel even more at a disadvantage in Oregon because we have fewer days than many other states, much less Japan. Duncan (and thus Obama's) plan seems to indicate that we either make days at school longer or we add to the summer schedule. This will give students a chance to get those days/hours they need to compete on an international stage.

As a sometimes proponent of getting our children ready for the global marketplace, I can't disagree with Duncan's point. Too many students "forget" concepts between freshman and sophomore, junior and senior, etc. years that I would be okay with shrinking (not eliminating) a long summer break in order to make sure that when those students arrive in my classroom, their previous year isn't a lost blip anymore. I'm also okay with longer hours, because honestly I think that getting off at 2:30 is a little early (and to be honest, as much as I love sports, I don't have an issue with hacking into practice time in order to get better at academics -- so what if the football team isn't as good, since 1% of all high school football players play professionally, and the rest need their academic talents to succeed vs. the global market, why do they get as much time to practice as three classes?)

Now, this said, I can see a few issues with Duncan's argument:

a) The farmer's calendar is not entirely what our school system is based on. Urban schools, when founded, did not have a group of farming children that went out from school so they went to school all year round.

b) Cost. Duncan does not mention that this would cost the US an arm and a leg in local taxes. I love teaching, but I'm paid for 10 months of work from 7 until 3. If we're going until 6, I want to be paid. If I'm working 12 months, which I think I should be inclined to do, then I want to be paid. If the program goes 12 months, into the hottest part of the year, we're going to have to spring for amenities like A/C otherwise school is going to be absolutely miserable for kids trying to learn (that last one is especially an issue in the southern extremes of our country).

c) What is gained from summer break. It may seem odd, but I have a number of students who need summer break -- it is there chance to earn income for their families in larger amounts, a chance to travel to see colleges, a chance to debrief a year a little bit, a chance to actually see their families a chance to engage in camps/activities that are educational yet not school...and I think that it would be hard for many to surrender these. From my own vantage point, I like summer to be able to spend time with my family, who gets neglected throughout the school year (it is nice to have a job that allows for family time), read (which I can never do well during the school year) and travel. I also like to take in a conference or a workshop about school, and even take time to "fix" issues that may have existed in lessons that during the school year I never have time to fix.


So this all said, I like what Arne's suggesting, but I do think that there are some practical issues that need addressing before we start hitting the books on August 1st. Ideas? Concerns?