Honestly, before I went to college, I have never heard of year round schooling. However, at Appalachian I have met a student who attended one. The students have larger breaks at different times, but they do not get all summer off. I think this is a great idea so the students don't get burnt out since they get their breaks spread out. Also, it keeps the students fresh in their learning, and they don't have 3 months to forget what they've previously learned. Not to mention, teachers don't have to waste time reteaching the same information the following year. However, one of the great benefits of being a teacher is to have that 3 month break from their career. As a future educator and a present student- what do you think?

I went to a year round middle school for 3 years and I loved it! However there are pros and cons:

Pros:
* Less burn out on teachers and students
* Less review time needed
* 2-5 week breaks throughout the whole year
* smaller classes (usually)
* Fit more students in schools

Cons:
* If you're on an athletic team, in a club that meets regularly, etc. you still have to come to school for practices, games, meetings, etc. even when you're on break. (This provides a strain on parents of students who can't provide their own transportation.)
* Make up school days are hard to schedule.
* Exams aren't all at one time.

I think that year round schools are good for students as far as learning is concerned and remembering information. However, I think that it is a huge burden on parents. Instead of having to just find someone to look after their kids in the summer they have to have babysitters all througout the year and find something to do with their children. It also creates the situation in which two kids in the same family might be going to school at different times of the year. As a future teacher I wouldn't be totally against teaching at a year round school, but I would prefer traditional. My county didn't have any year-round schools.

I believe that the year round school seems like a good idea. Like everyone has already said that the kids will retain more and have less time to concentrate on catching up previous materials. I have heard of these schools before and have often struggled with the decision as to whether or not I as a student would prefer them over having a summer break. I think that the overall idea of having the long break is fun and enjoyable, but not always academically friendly on certain students. Therefore, the year long school with random breaks throughout would be better for the academic aspect of the students. They may even like it better since they get long breaks throughout the year, but I’m sure some would still prefer the long summer break. I know that as a future teacher I would probably prefer the long summer, but then again since I’ve never tried the year round school program then I may even prefer it since there are more spaced out break areas for relaxation. Plus it would take some of the stress off of me based on not having to review everything that was previously taught that they might have forgotten over a three month period. Overall, I believe that it would be beneficial for the students and even if at first didn't seem as fun, would help everyone out in the end. School is for learning and for all students to have the chance of being literate, so any program that supports those motives is the one that I’m behind.

I love the idea of year round schooling. I believe that the 3 month summer break is bad for students because they completely get out of the habit of going to school. Shorter breaks allow students to have a time to relax and give their minds a break without completely blowing their schedule. I do agree that it could be a burden on parents, but I think the benefits outweigh the setbacks.

I know people who attended year-round schools and also some friends who now work in them as a teacher. Benefits I've heard from my friends who are first year teachers working in a year-round school is definitely the 3 week breaks. They say it gives them time to breathe and do lesson plans instead of having to rush through it to get them done in a short amount of time. I think teachers definitely like this schedule more because they don't have to re-teach material as much. Students don't have as much time to forget it, so it stays fresh on their minds longer.

I think that I am kind of up in the air about this one. I never went to a year round school but there was talk about changing our school to that. Personally as a teacher I think I would prefer regular school just because I really want the 3 month break. Also for the students who have to work I think that year round school could really mess that up for them. On the other hand I think students would be more engaged and not be so burnt out towards the end of the year and right before thanksgiving break if they went for a few weeks and then had off for a few. I also agree that it could help them retain information better because it would not be so long before they have to use it again.

I feel the same way as Quantina. I don't really know if i would like a year round school because, personally, I don't like the idea of change. Also, as a student, I'm pretty sure I would prefer traditional school because it is possible for me to have part-time jobs during Christmas break and summer break. It isn't the case in my family but in some families, kids have it put upon them to get a job because of their family's monetary situation.
I see how year round schools would be good though. It gives the teachers an easier time with their lesson plans and students less time to forget things, as mentioned in previous posts.

I think that year around school is a pretty good idea. I like the idea of a 3 month break, but breaks during different parts of the year would be nice too. I agree that students may not get as burnt out, and that the teachers may not either. I also think that it makes more sense. In the real would people dont get months off from their job at a time. I think that its a more realistic way to break up the year and I think that more shcools should try it.

Like some others, I have mixed feelings on this subject. I always went to a traditional school with summers off and I enjoyed it. I know sometimes it is hard to get back into the swing of things, but I think summer is good to relax and clean the slate. I know students need to retain their information, but they will be starting a new year each time and get used to a new teacher and new topics of learning. I think a longer break helps them prepare for that, especially in high school where you have semester classes. However, I could see how 3 week breaks during the year would also help students relax, but at the same time, would projects and tests be assigned during this time or is it a true break? I think that everyone needs some time to not worry about having to turn in a project and really relax. Also, as some people have mentioned, year round schools would hurt students who need to work full time during the summer. But it would be good for the teachers to have some breaks during the year to better plan and the student wouldn't lose as much information. So I'm not totally sure where I stand on this subject. I can see both sides.

I have never been involved with year round school. However, I think that the traditional setting is better. I students have more time to do summer travel which for some include trips that build knowledge. The summer is also prime time for certain teachers to plan for the year. Band directors take a large portion of the summer planning the marching band show, inspect and repair instruments, and a host of other things. This seems more logical to me.

I agree there are both pros and cons to year round school. Like stated before year-round school lessens the chance of forgetting information because there is such short breaks; so year round school would positively effect learning ability and the retaining of school learned knowledge. Another positive is that teachers and students get more breaks throughout the school year and not just one big break in the summer. I have often times gotten burnt out from going to school and find it hard to focus on school work without a taking a break from it.

Negatives: My mom is a teacher and does a lot of planning in the summer. She also spends about 2 weeks before the start of the school year setting up her room and getting it ready for the new students. With year round school, I think there would be very little transition time and time allotted for knew the preparation of knew students and classroom. It would also be hard if a teacher was asked to switch classrooms or grade levels. When would they find time to do all the moving or prepare knew lesson plans?

It would also be a negative for student athletes. Most schools attend schools for the regular 9 months then have a summer break, and they have set sport schedules. If all the schools in the area are not year round but one who will be their sport competition?

I also believe that year round schooling would benefit the students by breaking up the monotony of the school year. We are not an agrarian society anymore, which means that we do not need the children in the fields during harvest time (Summer). It seems that, as a nation, Americans tend to fear change. We stick to the norm whether it makes sense or not. The transition period between the current nine month school year and a year round approach would be difficult, but the benefits would be worth it.
A year round school year would keep the students more on task and allow less time for educational neglect. The system seems like it would allow more time for learning while still providing much needed breaks from scholastic routines.

I went to year around school when I was in elementary school. I found it to have both advantages and disadvantages. One big advantage I thought was that you did not get nearly as tired of going to school as you would in the traditional school schedule. Only going for a short time, and then having a 3 week break or so was very nice. However, there were some draw backs. One of the things that I liked least about Year-Around was that I was not out of school during the summer when my friends who were in Traditional were. Knowing that they were out of school when the weather was nice, and I was stuck in a classroom with sub-par air conditioning took my attention away from learning some what. Another disadvantage was that you could only learn so much in the time you were in school between breaks, and I sometimes tended to forget what I learned before, after we came back from the break. Overall, year-around was both good and bad in my opinion, but I doubt that I would put my children in it if I had a choice.

Personally, I prefer the idea of traditional schooling over that of year-round. I can see the benefits of year- round schools and would be able to get used to it if that was the atmosphere of my job. I grew up in traditional schooling and have come to appreciate some of its benefits. The main benefit for me was that it gave me three months of the year to work, and not just to work but to work in another state doing something that had no connection to school. The money that I saved during the summer served as my money to spend during the school year. If I attended a year-round school, I not only would have had to work more hours during the school year and my job possibilities would have been limited to jobs in the area around my home. I think its important that we give students the time to be free of required schooling and explore, whether that means traveling, working, or taking summer classes.