Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2007 > July > 18 > Entry
Summer in the city: That’s where break began
Summer. In one popular view, the typical 12-week sumer break in the U.S. is a scourge on education — an unfortunate relic of our agrarian past that now impedes student learning by letting them backslide between grades. It would be better, they say, to eliminate summer, keeping kids in class all year with shorter breaks between quarters.
But would it surprise you to learn that summer break did NOT rise from the need for our farming forefathers to have their children in the fields during their peak season?
The online magazine Slate claims summer break, in fact, was an urban idea and that rural schools only adopted it in an effort to standardize with their counterparts in the cities.
In fact, the Slate story said cutting back the school year by eliminating the summer quarter was both a cost saving move for the school and a reaction to the reality that many kids in the era before compulsory attendance only came to class for half the school year anyway since that was all their families could afford. (I found this via Alexander Russo’s This Week in Education blog).
In my own experience growing up, I learned a lot on summer break. In fact, it was the lessons during time spent with my family, on trips, pleasure reading, playing sports and hanging out with close friends that I remember the most — more than anything I learned in school during some of my growing up years.
But that was my middle class reality. For other kids, summer is not only less enriching, it can be downright dangerous to their academic growth and even their personal safety.
In a perfect world, perhaps we could find a way for those kids to have some of the same summer opportunities I had. But it probably would be easier just to keep them off the streets and out of their sometimes troubled homes by keeping them in school.
Still, the same 100-year-old issue faces us today — cost. To operate school districts during a longer school year would cost a lot more money. And taxpayers already are balking at the cost of schools.
What do you think of the idea of year-round school vs. the traditional 12-week summer break?
(Image credit: Meine Klein blog)
Permalink | Comments (13) | Categories: Teaching and Learning
Comments
By Laura
July 26, 2007 11:33 PM | Link to this
I did offer to buy my own air conditioner and so did numerous other staff members. We were told we could not do that. One classroom in our building reached 98 degrees. The teacher was told she could have an air conditioner if: she let DPS choose the air conditioner, let DPS maintenance install it, pay for the air conditioner and installation herself and then donate it to DPS. Yeah, right. I fully support the troops in Iraq and all over the world. I don’t think the comparisons are quite equal. I think comparing the teachers situation to the situation of the administrators is closer to a good comparison.By null
July 25, 2007 1:16 AM | Link to this
air conditioners, the problem is, if the teacher bought their own, they would still have to wait for the carpenters union to send someone out to install it, then still wait for the electricians union to wire a plug to handle the load. some of these room get very warm. If you install the unit the unions will file an agreevence for lost pay. It is the same way with the all the union. DPS has let the unions hold it by the noose. for example,P-K placed a work order in on a blower heater motor that had burned out about 4 years ago at the student entrance and it still hasn’t been fixed. or the fact it took the painters close to ten years to come and paint the main halls at P-K. For awhile there we were going to get parents in and paint the building ourselves, but Nolan Graham told us we couldn’t do it because of the unions and you know , the painters still haven’t finished painting P-K, which was started 3 years ago. then there are the buses, some are left idling and the exaulst fumes come right into the rooms, so then the teachers have to close their windows and then the room gets even hotter, so talk about waist and wear and tear on the engines, so this means down the road the bus could be stuck in the garage for breakdowns and a rout not covered and students left standing with no way to school because the parents can’t afford a car. I do recall someone had asked the question why are there so many cars parked in the playground area at P-K. Well there is only so much parking around the building. The lot near Taco Bell and the lot at the back of the school. the other lots are owned by one of the tavern owners and the new medical complex on Brown street, and last year we had just about 150 staff memebers, so where do we park? anywhere we can. Some of our teacher had received tickets from U.D. Campus police, even towed. I think that the campus police have better thing to do like, checking into under age drinking then harassing our teachers or parents for parking violations.By Teacher for hire
July 22, 2007 5:33 PM | Link to this
The DPS modified school year does have some problems..heat being the biggest. I was a mechanic before becoming a teacher and if you want to learn the heat isn’t that big of a deal. If a teacher is willing to purchase a unit large enough to cool their room effiecently then they should. It will cost about $600 to do that. The small $125 units will never work. As a new teacher I like to use the breaks to plan for the next quarter. The custodians can get the work done if they work instead of milling around waiting to be told what to do. It all comes down to poor planning. Classes needed to expand or renew certificates can be accomplished at night. If you think it is unfair think of the men and women in Iraq. We have it pretty good here.By Dave
July 22, 2007 3:06 PM | Link to this
Laura, do you mean to imply that when the sweat is pouring off you, it is difficult to appreciate the impact of the Reformation on European politics? Surely a fan will drop the temperature of the room 20 degrees. After all, we would NEVER make changes to simply save money which would negatively impact education!By Laura
July 22, 2007 1:00 AM | Link to this
Dave- what air conditioning costs?? The major air conditioning costs DPS has is for administration. Few schools have air conditioning except for the principal and main office. The rest of us are expected to buy ourselves fans and suffer.By Dave
July 19, 2007 8:25 PM | Link to this
Oldprof, could you elaborate on the savings for year-round school? I am not arguing, but everywhere I have been, when the numbers were crunched, year-round school did NOT have the intended savings. Maintenance costs, in particular, were higher since the work had to be done in a tighter time frame. And air conditioning can be pricey, too. I would like to see what the facts are here. Thanks.By Laura
July 19, 2007 6:24 PM | Link to this
There are too many problems with the modified year-round program in DPS. The worst is the heat in August and Sept. If you think that is whining- join us in class. Some classrooms have hit nearly 100 degrees. No one can accomplish anything in heat like that. And no, the kids are not used to it. Teachers need that time to take classes to update their license. Some teachers need the whole summer to have part-time jobs. Teachers who don’t live in the district have childcare problems. (Don’t bother telling me to move to the city. I’ve owned my home for over 20 years and I’m not selling.)Custodians hate the schedule. They cannot clean the whole building in the short summer. Many teachers offered to purchase air conditioners but were told they couldn’t. Teachers have to buy their own fans. It is just wrong to expect an employee to buy their own fans or suffer even more in the heat.By Oldprof
July 18, 2007 10:14 PM | Link to this
For cost savings, a full-fledged year-round calendar is great. Dayton does not have a true year-round calendar; rather, extended breaks between terms. A true year-round calendar would break the student body into four groups, and each group would rotate 3 months in class/1 month out. Cost savings come from needing 25% less support staff/classroom space (with concomitant reductions in energy bills, maintanance, etc.). Educationally, students have only 1 month to regress between terms; teachers have the same time off only with more frequent breaks so that the planning cycle is shorter and more frequent; money is saved from unemployment for seasonal employees like bus drivers or cafeteria workers. And scheduling can accommodate families by placing siblings in the same groups, so that vacations are coordinated.By Caroline
July 18, 2007 8:49 PM | Link to this
The old-fashioned 12-week summer break is much better than this new “modified year-round” calendar that DPS is following. It just makes the school year seem longer, and it makes it harder for teachers & students to work summer jobs and for teachers to pick up the courses they need to keep their certification. Students should have the summer to be off and to experience life. They don’t need to be in school all the time. The city has all kinds of summer programs for kids who need supervision or entertainment during the summer.By Mary
July 18, 2007 7:33 PM | Link to this
Scott, I think you had a “Freudian slip” with the “12 month” summer break in your first line. I think the quality of the school day is more important than the quantity. Sitting in desks all day is not good, especially if you are bored, underchallenged, and not learning anything new. I know, I have been there in agraria, so have my children in suburbia. Maybe urban/suburban kids should also be taught agrarian life (work) in the summer, as well as sports. Over dependence on others for our food supply is not healthy. I find the transition to suburbia from my agrarian childhood a step backwards from self-sufficiency and perspective. I would sometimes show up late for school after farm chores and helping round up livestock. Now, for the first time in human history, as was recently pointed out in the news, more people worldwide are living in urban and suburban areas as opposed to rural areas. I think this changes human culture, not just education, in some bad ways. We become overly dependent, vulnerable and lose perspective to some catastrophies, including famine and pandemics. Plus kids and parents in suburbia and cities have an attitude that the education system owes them daily entertainment. I went home, babysat, did farm chores and cooked the family dinner, so I get very impatient with some urban/suburban attitudes about what schools and taxpayers owe them. We also have been spoiled with a cheap food supply, as discussed recently in a Dayton Daily News commentary, I think by Gwynne Dwyer, and that is quickly changing. Our culture and children need to be educated about their vulnerabilities so they have a chance to survive.By Scott Elliott
July 18, 2007 7:31 PM | Link to this
Oops. As much as teachers might like the idea of a 12-month summer, I’m afraid that was a typo. I meant to say 12 weeks!By kevin
July 18, 2007 2:14 PM | Link to this
Summer is also a needed time for teachers to plan for the upcoming year and for the district to roll out things like technology updates. I’m not sure how teachers and administrators would juggle that during a year-round schedule without disrupting class-time.By Mark
July 18, 2007 11:47 AM | Link to this
A 12-month summer break? Now THAT’S a concept my schoolteacher wife could get used to … You may want to fix that typo in your lede, dude, and I hope you and your family are enjoying the beach!