Numerous studies have shown a steady decline in the American high school education for the categories of science, math, and reading in recent decades. The news of American students’ falling behind in global standards has led various groups from private organizations to lawmakers to debate on a solution throughout the years. To really improve students’ education, however, it is high time for the topic of year-round schools to take center stage.
Before crying out in exasperation at the thought of staying in school all year long, students should realize that the overall number of attendance days does not change. Year-round schooling gives students the same 180 days of education rearranged into smaller chunks that last for the whole year.
The problem with the regular school schedule is that much of the information students learn is lost over the long summer break. Teachers often times have to review old material at the beginning of a new school year, spending valuable time that could instead be used to move kids forward.
Unlike regular schools, year-round schools allow kids to maintain their knowledge without the doubt of losing much of it over a long respite. Dividing the school schedule up with many short breaks can help relieve the long stressful task of high school cramming, as well as allow students of lower grade levels to focus on academics throughout the entire year.
With year-round schooling, school districts would have the option of following the 45/15 schedule, in which students attend 45 days of school and then take 15 days off. These frequent breaks allow students time to process the information learned and help them maintain a more balanced schedule.
The system of year-round schooling also gives schools the option of adopting a multi-track system. This would divide the total body of students into four groups, or “tracks,” and have three of them active for a period of time while the fourth is on break. A multi-track system would allow schools to increase their normal student capacity by over 30 percent, which would greatly benefit cities with fast-growing populations. Class sizes could then be reduced, allowing individual students to receive more help from teachers than they would have in larger classroom settings.
Besides, the main reason the current school schedule was established in the first place was because children were needed at home during harvesting seasons in the summer. Times have changed immensely since then, and most American families live in urbanized areas instead of on farms.
Our country needs to realize that the world is ever changing, and education, the most important part of society, needs to evolve with it. By switching to year-round schooling, America would be solving many problems with its education system and bring upon a better, more efficient way of teaching its future generations.
