In my opinion, I go by the argument that students should be in a year-round school system that has more breaks throughout the year than a long summer break. The basis of my argument is largely on academic performance rather than on cultural and social concerns.
Annotated Bibliography
Nair, Sindhu. Should American Schools Go Year Round? Teach Hub, 2012. <http://www.teachhub.com/should-american-schools-go-year-round>.
The author here is concerned about the lasting effects that the year-round education calendar will have on both the families and the communities if implemented. The author is also concerned by the changes that year-round students will have on patterns of operations, public service programs, and recreational activities. The best part of the article is where the author brings out the pros and cons involving both the year-round and the traditional long summer break. One important point in the article is that of the academic reasons for supporting the year-round system. According to the article, the system improves the overall performance compared to the traditional one, with an example of Japan, whose schools use the year-round system and perform better than America. Although the author was able to provide some of the critics of the system, I find proposing arguments to be stronger than the opposing ones.
Pearson, Amy. Year-Round School Schedules. Seattle: Hearst Seattle Media, 2018. <http://education.seattlepi.com/yearround-school-advantages-disadvantages-2521.html>.
Just like in the first article by Nair, the author of this article, Pearson, weighs the two systems of education by distinguishing between their advantages and drawbacks. The author’s main focus was on the manner in which students perform in each of the two systems, and indeed, the author cited that a year-round system is a recipe for high performance. The author here pointed out four major points of debate: frequent breaks, effects on budget, burnout, and academic achievement. I liked how the author described the views of the advocates of the year-round system, who, in this article, brought out a more justifiable argument than the critics. The critics concentrated more on social and family times than on academic performance, which is the main reason for education. The article states that students would have some time with their families during the frequent breaks but with the added advantage of high performance.
Outline
I strongly support a year-round school system with more breaks throughout the year than the traditional long summer break. To me, the effectiveness of an educational program or an education system is measured by the performance of students. Although I accept that students also should have time with their families, I think the families would even be prouder of seeing a better and improved performance of their children in school. I have focused mainly on the effects of the long-term break and the short-term break on the performance of students. According to Pearson, a majority of students are more likely to forget their crucial learning materials while on long-term summer break than those on short breaks (Pearson). The bigger issue is when the students return to classes after long summer breaks; teachers spend most of their time on fall review because a majority have forgotten their course progress.
Regarding school and family budget considerations, I think a year-round education system is advantageous to students who come from less privileged backgrounds and who might not have the financial capacity to explore the country or the world for vacation (Nair). It also ensures that school resources are used effectively throughout the year. However, critics have cited expensive short-term childcare solutions brought about by frequent time off work as a burden. I concur that getting frequent time off work to have family time can be costly, but it can be planned well. For instance, if there are five breaks of 3 weeks, as a family, the parents can decide to cut the cost by skipping three and having two times off work. Frequent breaks are also efficient for student and teacher recovery, especially when they feel burnt out, which also boosts concentration. Therefore, my desired call to action is for the education department to consider the academic benefits of a year-round system and roll it out to schools’ calendars.
Work Cited
Nair, Sindhu. Should American Schools Go Year Round? Teach Hub, 2012. <http://www.teachhub.com/should-american-schools-go-year-round>.
Pearson, Amy. Year-Round School Schedules. Seattle: Hearst Seattle Media, 2018. <http://education.seattlepi.com/yearround-school-advantages-disadvantages-2521.html>
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