“The first schools were created as far back as the Xia dynasty (2070 BC-1600 BC),” according to Horizon Educational. This tells us that school has been around pretty-much forever, and things are bound to change over the years, for better or for worse. There are two different school schedules followed in the United States: traditional and year-round. Which one is the better choice for students and teachers?
Traditional school calendars throughout the United States usually have a regular break and then a lunch break throughout the school day. But there are also multiple long-term breaks throughout the year for holidays or just for students to have a break and reduce stress and debrief everything. Breaks like this also give students a chance to catch up on schoolwork. Traditional schools usually have quick one day off for holidays to celebrate, but they then also have about a week for Thanksgiving, two weeks for Winter/Christmas, a week in the Spring, and then a three-month summer break. Students attend a total of 180 days before the big summer break. There are benefits for this type of schooling, like a well- structured, in-person environment, mental rest, information “incubation,” responsibility and work experience, discovering new hobbies, “unstructured play,” and putting what you have learned to the test. While there are pros like these, there are always cons of a long summer off, such as learning loss, disruptions of family routines, parents having to focus on childcare, burnout, as well as loss of connections. Despite these cons, content specialist at 21K school, Ankita Singha, says, “Traditional schools are an old, better-suited way for learners who need clear structure, guidance, and preparation for conventional academic paths.”
Year-round school is a different type of schooling schedule that replaces the traditional three month summer break with a more “balanced calendar.” Students still attend the standard 180 days of instruction, but they get more scattered breaks throughout the months, rather than having a longer summer break. Alyssa Florke, a 9th grader here at Casa who attended both year-round and traditional schools said of year-round schooling that “Summer was too short. Like, there wasn’t enough time for summer. It felt like school just ended, and we just went right back.”
The most popular system for year-round schools is the “45/15” system, where students attend school for 45 days, then get a 15 day break. There are many benefits for this type of schedule, for example, reduced summer learning loss, decreased student and teacher burn out, and improved facility utilization. Casa freshman Kate Lua said she thought that traditional school is better because “I like being able to spend more time outside in nice weather with friends rather than spending more time in the winter in colder weather.” However, there are cons to this schedule. For example, there are challenging childcare logistics, disruptions to traditional camp and employment experiences, and increased operating costs for school districts.
The pros and cons of each side are very strong; however, we both think that traditional school is better than year-round school. The traditional school calendar is a better option for students and teachers.
