Persuasive Speech

The final bell rings; it’s the last day of school and summer break has finally come! Students don’t have to think about school for at least another 2 ½ months: that’s the way it should be. Schools should continue following the traditional calendar, and not a year-round calendar.
There are multiple downsides to year-round schooling. It has no positive effects on education, it costs more for the school and families, and it ruins the long-awaited summer vacation. These are only a few things.
Unlike what people believe, year-round schooling has no positive impact on education. Most schools that use the year-round calendar go with the 45-15 method: 45 days of school followed by 15 days off. All of this switching can disrupt the learning process. Also, there isn’t any evidence of ‘improved test scores.’ Because of this, many schools that try year-round schooling usually switch back to the traditional calendar after a while. It’s clear that changing to year-round schooling doesn’t help the students, so why make that change?
Like all other buildings in our community, keeping a school open needs a great amount of money. So when a school changes to a year-round calendar, the costs can go up ten percent. Keeping a middle school open in the summer requires air condition, and that can add up on the bill pretty quickly. Don’t forget you have to pay your staff for working longer hours. Many schools are already having those problems. With all of these factors, the cost of keeping schools open becomes extremely high. For example, a high school in Arizona had a cost increase of $157,000 when they switched to year-round schooling. Some schools may not be able to handle these expenses, and other schools that can, could be doing better things with the money. Is year-round school really where the money should go?
Another important part of a kid’s life is summertime. With year-round schedules, students would hardly have any time to relax. During the 15-day breaks, they’d be too caught up doing homework and thinking about their next quick return to school. It would also be difficult to organize family vacations with parents’ work schedules. One expert, Dr. Peter Scales, says, “The biggest plus of camp is that camps help young people discover and explore their talents, interests, and values. Most schools don’t satisfy these needs. Kids who have these kinds of [camp] experiences end up being healthier and fewer problems.” So, obviously, summer is crucial to a child’s life. Why should this be taken away?
It’s clear that year-round schooling isn’t the best option for the school calendar. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the way the schooling is now! Why change something that works so well? It’d keep summertime the way it should be, saves the school and families money, and everyone’s happy. The final bell rings. Let’s make sure that this time, it means the “real summer vacation is here.