Year-Round School: the modern school of today

[Lauren Andersen]

 

As the traditional school system, having an 8-week summer, becomes less popular and more cities adopt the year-round school system, one question arises. Which school system is better? The old, 8-week summer system has been the same for ages while the new year-round system is more modern, and we possibly benefit from the change. I absolutely love my summer as much as the next student, but personally, I think the school year is too long and doesn’t have enough breaks. Which is what the year-round school system offers us.

With a year-round system, we would typically have periods of school followed by typically a 4-week break, but the best part is that the system would be flexible. For example, during the summer months perhaps we would have longer breaking periods while in the winter we would have longer schooling periods. Also, during the schooling periods in the system, we would have 8 periods in a day. We would have a couple electives during the day, but longer class periods. The longer class periods don’t sound very appealing, but once the period of school ends, so would the classes. If my class schedule could be cut in half, I know that’s about an extra 2 hours of sleep I’ll be getting at night.

After adding up all the benefits of having year-round school, I think we should start considering adopting this new system. It is used all around the world and even in many parts of this country. Having a year-round school would be extremely different, and it would take many students and teachers out of their comfort zones. At the same time, if we don’t give it a try, then we may never really know how this system might actually benefit us. So what do you think?

 

What are the pros and cons of having a year-round school system?

Would having a year-round school system be more or less beneficial to you as a student?

[Patrick Witt]

I really like our current system of schooling. We go for a couple of months and then we get a big break. It gives me something to look forward to. With this new schooling system I feel like we'd grow to routine to school then break that there wouldn't be much to look forward to. Plus how would we title these breaks? We have winter, spring, summer, etc. but with this new system I feel like they'd just become break #1, 2, 3, etc. Each one would lose that whole "break" feeling, rather it would for me.

[Alex Costigan]

That sounds nice to have so many breaks but without summer I would feel like school never ends and I wouldn't really feel the progression to the next grade.  Summer to me is like checking off another grade completed.

[Ben Perkins]

i understand how a year round school system would beneficial for kids under 1st grade, but having jr high, high school students go all year round would be too much. By the end of my school year my brain feels like straight mush, i cant imagine a school year with out a summer break waiting at the end of it. It would just be piling on way too much work and too much brain power for a young adolescent.