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Friday, February 2, 2007
The Calendar Wars
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the first day of seventh grade. I donned my plaid uniform skirt, white Oxford shirt, and then, the piece de resistance: a brand-new cable-knit cardigan sweater, which my mom, bless her heart, had bought, even though it broke the back-to-school budget.
I had waited all summer to wear that sweater and I sweated the whole walk to campus. I remember being perfectly surprised at how hot I was: Didn’t the first day of school signal the start of fall?
Nowadays, fall falls halfway through the fall semester. Administrators have named a whole host of reasons for moving the start of school to early August and even July, but a new bill may change their minds about how they approach the school year.
The legislation would allow school systems to create academic calendars that are 10 days shorter. Trim a few days off each semester and students could end up going back to school in late August.
Lawmakers, trying to accommodate tourism interests and parent frustrations, have tried unsuccessfully to force systems to move their start dates back. This new approach would let superintendents decide if they can fit the curriculum into a shorter time frame.
I have a feeling, though, that the old arguments will resurface. Educators, burdened with testing demands, will say they’re already cramming too much into 180 days. Parents, who remember returning to school after Labor Day, will say they want their summer vacations back. Honestly, people, will the calendar wars ever end?
