Which School Schedule Works the Best?
In today’s world one of the most debated topics in the realm of education is the difference between year round schedules and traditional schedules. While many schools across the US use both of these schedules, which is the better option is a universal debate.
Year round schedules bring many positive attributes to the table.While the year round schedule has a shorter vacation break, because of this break, information gathered through the school year is better retained and thus kids will be better educated. Another big advantage year round schedules have over traditional schedules is the frequent breaks teachers and students get which causes a decrease of stress for both of them.
However, that doesn’t mean that traditional schedule has any less advantages. In fact, traditional schools have shown to have more academic achievement than in alternate school schedules.
Another big advantage traditional scheduling has over year round scheduling is that it allows for a more social experience which allows students to build stronger relationships. This allows the entire school to become not just a school but a community.
Both schedules also have disadvantages. Year round schools don’t have the long summer break that traditional schools get which means both teachers and students will be more burned out when returning to school after the previous school year. Furthermore, due to the shorter break students will have less time to spend with family which is essential to the development of the child.
Traditional schools also have their fair share of problems. Because of the extended summer break that means students will have less off days during school year leading to more work for the students.
Because of the increased workload, students will have to face even more stress than if they were in a year round school and eventually the overload of work might cause some problems in the future.
Walnut Creek police officer Drew Olson, has kids who attend a school with a modified traditional schedule, “I love it because it gives us the ability to go on vacations when most other people aren’t going on vacations in March and October. The fact that they get a two week break at the end of each quarter allows them to kind of recover a little bit after however many weeks they’ve been in school”.
Tristan Synder previously went to Hertiage School district and experienced it first hand. “I would get longer breaks which helped relieve a lot of stress from the school year,” However not every- thing was perfect. “The schooling between breaks seemed to be longer every time, so you’d feel less motivated to get work done, because the break seemed so far away.”
In my opinion, traditional schools are the better option. With traditional schooling, students tend to show higher academic achievement and while its true that students might lose information during the extended summer break, that’s nothing a few weeks of review can’t fix. More social experience could help build relationships quicker which allows students to build bonds that last for years.
