Bye Bye Summer Vacation--Lauren Spector

Ah summer; the time for relaxing, playing, and tanning; the time of year every student looks forward to. No homework, no tests or studying, no more waking up early but rather sleeping in till noon; but soon all that fun in the sun probably will disappear. The United States is ranked twenty-sixth in the world for education and the President sees this as a problem. President Barack Obama is proposing extending the school year, in order to compete with other countries. Though groans and complaints will be heard, it is necessary; students in the U.S have low math and reading scores (most 8th graders can’t read at the appropriate level) compared to other countries.
Summer vacation was used back when our country was made up of farmers; students had summer vacation in order to help their families out in the fields, harvesting crops. “We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children home plowing the land at the end of each day. That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage. That is no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy.” Obama said. Obama is proposing to not only to extend the school year but also school days, as well as having schools open on weekends for kids who need extra help. Summer school used to be for kids who failed a class or fell behind but now it will be for all students, regardless of grades. Kids will learn more and achieve higher.
Kids in the United States spend more hours in school, about 1,150 per year, than kids in other countries, but spend fewer days in school. The average school year in the United States is 180 days which is significantly less than the 243 days of school students spend in Japan. Advocates are pushing toward a 200- day school year, which would put us above England, France, Hungary and a few other countries. States and school districts have looked at three ways to change schooling: schools want to change school day schedules, extend the school day, and alter the school- year structure. Some schools in the U.S already have year-round schooling. Those schools shorten summer vacation and lengthen other breaks. Charter schools are known for having longer school days, weeks, or years. At KIPP, a charter school with 82 campuses across the country, students go to school from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. They go to school every other Saturday and for three weeks in the summer. KIPP eighth grade classes perform much better on state tests than school districts.
Schools can start by taking out some holidays such as, Labor Day, since students are not laborers or in unions and NEOEA Day, a training day for teachers and staff that could be done on their own time or on a weekend. Schools need to take into consideration that they will have a diverse group of students, coming from different backgrounds, religions, and cultures. If schools are not closed for some holidays, students have the right to miss school if they observe the holiday. I went to a school where the Jewish religion was not very widespread among students whereas my Jewish cousins went to a school where most, if not all, students are Jewish. My cousins’ school was closed for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) whereas my school was not. If I wanted to spend the day in temple and observe the holiday during the day, I had to call in absent.
Researcher Tom Loveless of Brookings Institution looked at math scores in countries that added math instruction time. Scores were higher in countries that added time to the day rather than days to the year. “Ten minutes sounds trivial to a school day, but don’t forget, these math periods in the U.S average 45 minutes. Percentage wise, that’s a pretty healthy increase.” Loveless said.
Block scheduling is another effective strategy. Block scheduling, typically, divides the school day into four periods of 80-100 minutes and alternate subject matter by day or semester. San Diego’s Blueprint for Student Success program has seen improvement in students’ scores by doubling or tripling the length of core classes such as reading and math.
Another strategy schools are using is to reduce elective classes and create study halls where students can receive additional help from their teachers. This helps improve individualized student-teacher relationships, which can increase student engagement in school. However, some elective classes can be important. Electives that teach finance, cooking, and other practical survival, living on your own skills, can prove useful. Another problem with this strategy is that most students don’t spend their study hall time doing their homework but rather chatting with friends and fooling around. While many programs in schools such as art and music have been cut from the curriculum, if school is to be extended, these programs should be brought back seeing as there would be plenty of time for students to attend these classes.
A study of high performing high schools in Massachusetts found that all the top performing schools had expanded school days. Schools can lengthen the time students spend in core academic classes and offer after-school education services for students who need it. Some schools have used the extra time to create internships and online courses to engage students even more. President Obama and others find having school open after hours and on weekends keep at-risk students out of trouble, and can lead them to be the first in their families to graduate from high school and possibly continue to higher education.
Research suggests that students lose information over the summer break. Extending the school year will help students retain information and help them succeed on standardized tests. Karl Alexander, a sociology professor at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University, has researched that poor children (disadvantaged) make no progress in the summer, and compared to their wealthier peers, they fall behind. Poverty is linked to other problems in learning, such as hunger and less involvement from parents; schooling in the summer will help kids enhance on their learning experiences. Wealthier kids have parents who read with them, learn language skills, and give them learning opportunities like summer camp, vacations, sports, and music lessons.
Every child is guaranteed equal education opportunities but most do not receive this because the school they attend lacks quality teachers, resources, and building improvements. In order to guarantee they receive an equal education, poorer school districts could extend the school days, weeks, and year and take advantage of SES, supplemental education services, a government funded program to help low-income and minority students. SES can close the achievement gap and focus on building academic skills and language acquisition for those who struggle with English. This will help poor and minority students learn the same amount of information as students who come from families with money.
Extending the school year and cutting summer vacation short may have a negative effect on the hospitality industry (hotels, resorts, etc) and camps. Many see summer camp as a fun time for kids, with trips to the pool and other various fun spots in their city but many do not know it can also be enriching. Camps teach children life lessons and socializing skills. Anisfield Day Camp is part of the Jewish Community Center in Beachwood, Ohio and offers many educational experiences such as Israeli culture, sports, art, and swimming lessons.
From May to September, hotels and resorts earn a substantial amount of money as that is the time of year when families travel. With school extending into those months, these businesses will lose a lot. It is also the time when many high school find employment; high school students will no longer be able to earn the money the need. Joe McInerney, president and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association told FOXNews.com, “If we don’t have those people, there will not be enough Americans out there available to fill those positions.” In the summer many families take one or two week- long trips, but if the school year is extended, the hospitality industry could be earning more due to families taking more frequent, although shorter vacations.
Longer days or years will also mean financial challenges. School districts are already having a hard time in this economy to find funding to keep schools running, provide resources to help learning, and pay teachers. If school days or years are extended, districts will have to pay additional energy, utility, and transportation costs. President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan encourage states to use the stimulus package money to rebuild the curriculum, increase teacher pay, improve school conditions, and offer new technology to students. “Throwing money at the schools won’t fix them.” Obama says. But they are hoping that these measures not only help U.S students keep up with international students but go beyond. With United States citizens being more knowledgeable this makes them more competitive for jobs.
Does Obama want every student to go to school until dinnertime and attend summer school? Aren’t children already overscheduled and need time to be kids and play? “Those hours from 3 o’clock to 7 o’clock are times of high anxiety for parents,” Duncan said. “They want their children safe. Families are working one and two and three jobs now to make ends meet and to keep food on the table.” Extending school will ensure kids are safe and keeping up on their studies, rather than staying home alone for hours until parents come home from work and playing video games, watching television or Facebook chatting. On the other hand, extending school will keep parents from seeing their children during the week. It is bad enough parents don’t see their children very often on weekdays and putting in extra hours at school will just make it worse.
What if it isn’t how long a child spends in the classroom but rather the quality of the teachers and the curriculum? States and school districts have used the lowest possible standards in the curriculum and watch it being taught in order to ensure most, if not all, students pass and graduate. President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan need to look at this as a possibility before jumping the gun on extending school time. If low expectations are the problem, then new rules should be enforced as to what should be taught and standards for students. In Ohio, students must complete and pass the Ohio Graduation Test their sophomore year of high school in order to graduate. The OGT is a basic standardized test that has five sections including reading, math, science, writing, and social studies. How students score on this test is based on what they are learning from their instructors.
In order to take action on extending school time, the state needs to gain support from teachers’ unions. The teachers’ unions would demand higher pay and a change in teacher contracts. The district will need the support from parents, teachers, students, and the community. Parents would support it to increase their child’s education but may not support it because they would see their child less. Some students would not support it because they hate school as is and would hate to spend more time there. Teachers would support it if they were given more pay and it will give them more time to teach their students what needs to be taught rather than feeling rushed. In order for schools to take action, they need to determine how to restructure the school day and year so that students are given more educational opportunities.
An IEP, Individualized Education Plan, is created for students with disabilities and is a plan for them to succeed in their academics. Rather than President Obama enforcing a certain number of days and hours on all schools across the country, schools should have the opportunity to create their own individualized education plan, like the IEP used for students with disabilities, to restructure their calendar year or days. Every school is different. An individualized plan to extend the school year and day should be based on a school’s funding, grades, tests, etc. If extended, schools need to monitor the progress of students and teachers; they need to make sure teachers are using the time effectively and engaging students and monitor how well students are performing on tests and papers.
If a school is to extend the time a student spends in the classroom, it should be the hours in a day or the days in the year. Schools should not be in session on weekends for religious purposes. Those who are Jewish, practice Shabbat on Saturdays, by having a day of rest and attending temple, while Christians and Catholics attend church on Sundays and that is their day of rest. It is a good idea for schools to be open on weekends as an option for students who do not practice religion or would like to receive extra help. If school was to take place on weekends, teachers wouldn’t have time to create lesson plans or grade papers, tests, and projects. Weekends are when families spend time together and if a child is in school that is less time with his or her family.
A negative aspect about extending the school day is students’ functioning. One would expect high school students to sit through a day, though they can be rowdy at times, but it would be impossible for a kindergartener or first grader to sit still and pay attention for a long time. Children perform better when they have had a good night’s rest; students do not always receive eight hours of sleep due to homework, sports, after- school activities and work. Schools should extend school days but start school a little later than the usual 7:30 a.m. A way to make students pay attention and learn for a long period of time is to keep them engaged. Hands on activities, games, and various other engaging activities can help keep a student’s interest, help them learn, and retain information.
Our country has an obesity crisis. Everyone knows it and most are trying to change that by getting people to be more active. If the school day and year are extended that is less physical activity for students and more sitting on their butts, which does not help the obesity rate. A fifty minute physical education class is not enough; if school time is going to increase, then physical education needs to increase too. Teachers can also incorporate activities in the classroom that require movement to help students get the exercise they need while learning. Play a game of basketball while quizzing them on the Civil War or Shakespeare; every time they get a question right, they can shoot and help their team win.
Having more qualified teachers rather than incompetent ones and extending the time a student spends in the classroom is necessary as our country’s quality of education is gradually declining. If schools choose not to extend the day or year, teachers should still make an effort in helping their students receive extra help. They can do this by offering appointments to meet with them before, during, or after school, or working with them online. Schools should also take into consideration how well a student is performing in their academics. A student who receives As and Bs should not have to put in extended time unlike a student who is falling behind in a class or two.
With technology growing, online classes and schooling is another option. Students can complete online courses and schoolwork as part of an extended school day. This option gives students more knowledge, hands on activities, and more time rather than trying to complete a project in a fifty minute period. Online class work can be completed on their own time by a due date set by the teacher. More and more online schooling is being offered rather than going to school but if the schools combine the two, students will gain social skills as well as extra learning opportunities.
A way to help students achieve is by having them prove what they have learned in the classroom. All students love multiple choice tests because it helps them eliminate wrong answers to come up with the correct answer. But a reason students have to work harder in math is because they have to remember formulas and the steps it takes to get to the answers. Challenge students. Students should show where they stand in the class by having to write a paper about what they learned in the classroom. Babying the students by giving them a multiple choice exam won’t help them learn anything.
Field trips can also be beneficial in helping students learn more and achieve. Students like field trips because they get to miss school and go have fun, but if teachers have an assignment with it, they will more likely pay attention to the tour guide or be respectful in the museum. Giving students an assignment also helps students prove what they learned on the field trip. If it’s a science class, take the students to NASA, if it’s an English class, take the students to the theater, and if it’s a social studies class, take them to a museum. Teachers can also do fun reenactments to teach. If your class is reading a play, have the students perform rather than just read; history teachers can reenact historical events they are studying. Students don’t want to just sit at a desk, listening to a teacher talk and taking notes, they want to be engaged and active; they are young and that is how they learn best, by being involved in the process.
In our economy, American jobs are leaving and going to other countries. If America extends school time, this will put us in a more competitive position to keep the jobs here in America. Students, parents, and teachers may not necessarily want to have more school, but people should put need before want especially if it is in the best interest of the country. States should determine how their schools will have extended time rather than President Obama setting a specific amount of time for all schools across the country. Extending the school day and year is a good idea because the quality our education is declining and putting us far behind other industrialized nations; Education should be a top priority as it shapes our country.

Sources:
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Altman, Lynda. "Will Extending the School Day and Year Improve U.S Education?" www.associatedcontent.com. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. .

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