Summer Should Be Allowed In High School

Summer is a time for kicking back, poppin a cold soda by the pool and listening to the Teen Pop Radio and your favorite country tunes. It’s a time where all stress is relieved and the C- in math is completely forgotten. What most people don’t realize is during these 9-12 weeks of complete relaxation, children are not working on what they thought was confusing in math, but instead experiencing the dreadful summer slide and making next year that much harder (Davis). Because summer seems to be a time where all academic skills are forgotten, school districts and state officials are fighting to lengthen the average U.S school year of 180 days to 200+ days (Davis). The idea of lengthening the school year is a great solution to erasing the summer
They do not have any grandparents nor extended family living nearby so it is entirely up to them to take care of their children(Horton). The wife takes the first week off work to stay home and her husband then takes the second week off(Horton). For the next three weeks of the summer, they rely on the 14-year- old to watch the younger siblings(Horton). They then pay for two weeks of childcare for the smaller children and then the family finally spends the last week of summer together, on holiday(Horton). Shockingly, this family is one of the more fortunate ones, being able to pay for the two weeks of childcare and providing food for all three children. Most parents rely on the cheap school cafeteria to fill their children's stomachs but now “food banks are bracing themselves for unprecedented summer holiday demand” (Horton). These summers are not only challenging for the parents, but the kids often suffer from an extreme case of boredom. "... for many children -- especially children of low-income families -- summer is a season of boredom, inactivity and isolation.”(Von Drehle). With more days added to the year, summer can be
This longer school year will enhance the learning experience and make it more exciting for both students and teachers (Davis). New technology nowadays is enabling teachers to find extra materials and research on the internet. Back in the 1900’s, teachers spent their summers planning the entire year curriculum, but now with computers and the ability to share assignments online, lesson plans can be made easily and quite quickly (Huang). Schools will also be able to go more in depth providing students with a better idea of their interests. A longer school year will increase learning and teach every child so much more than what they currently learn.
When one considers the enhancement of learning, the financial and stress relief, and more detailed lessons, it is clear that lengthening the school year would only change America school districts for the better. A 9-12 week summer destroys two months of learning and causes an extreme amount of stress on working parents. If we shorten the summer and lengthen the school year, by only 20 days, it is bound to make the kids of America smarter and more