A three month long summer vacation from public school seems stupid

[sevensages]

Do you agree with me?

 

[DaveC426913]

This question is not well formed enough for me to be able answer meaningfully. I will abstain until some clarity is brought to it.

 

[sevensages]

This question is not well formed enough for me to be able answer meaningfully. I will abstain until some clarity is brought to it.

I am asking if a three month long vacation for children from grades kindergarten to grade 12 is stupid.

 

[BillTre]

I liked a three month vacation when i was a kid.
What is your argument for it being stupid?

 

[PeroK]

Define "stupid". What are the benefits and/or disadvantages of changing it? Should the break be longer or shorter? If so, how long?

 

[sevensages]

I liked a three month vacation when i was a kid.
What is your argument for it being stupid?

Children would get better educations if school was year round for two reasons:

1# Teachers could cover more total curriculum in 12 months than in 9 months.

2# Children forget some of the curriculum that they learned in the previous school year over the three month long summer vacation. This mostly applies to subjects that are progressive, especially mathemathics.

 

[sevensages]

Define "stupid". What are the benefits and/or disadvantages of changing it? Should the break be longer or shorter? If so, how long?

It is stupid to have a three month long break in the summer because it causes children to attain lower quality educations than if school was year round. The summer vacation should only be one or two weeks. The benefit of changing the summer vacation to one or two weeks instead of three months would be that children would get higher quality educations.

 

[PeroK]

It is stupid to have a three month long break in the summer because it causes children to attain lower quality educations than if school was year round. The summer vacation should only be one or two weeks. The benefit of changing the summer vacation to one or two weeks instead of three months would be that children would get higher quality educations.

I guess that's debatable. When I was at school, the summer break was about six weeks.

 

[Janus]

It is stupid to have a three month long break in the summer because it causes children to attain lower quality educations than if school was year round. The summer vacation should only be one or two weeks. The benefit of changing the summer vacation to one or two weeks instead of three months would be that children would get higher quality educations.

In other words, kids shouldn't be allowed to be kids. And I question whether you'd get that much of an improvement. I think it would more likely lead to burnout, especially in younger children. It would also be interesting to see what happens when a majority of working people with children in school applies to take their vacation in the same two week period.

 

[weirdoguy]

I think it would more likely lead to burnout

This. It's 2025, I know some people don't want to belive this, but we are not robots. We need breaks. Children need breaks. And not short ones. Children need more rest, because they are growing up! Again, it's 2025 and we already know that hustle culture is not the way to go.

 

[jbriggs444]

I guess that's debatable. When I was at school, the summer break was about six weeks.

For us (1960's and 70's midwest US) it was a three month vacation from June through August. My parents were both teachers, so the entire family had three months each year not tied down by anything. We spent the first three weeks of each summer picking a direction, hopping into the car and camping our way across the country. The rest of each summer still stretched out before us, seemingly infinite from the perspective of my child's eyes.

In my view, six weeks would also have been acceptable. I would expect that extending the school year from 180 classroom days to 210 days would result in significantly improved educational outcomes.

I do not know how such an increase would feed into the ability to attract and pay for quality teachers.

However...

It is easy to discuss education like a spreadsheet. Classroom days per year. Classroom size. Teacher salary per student. Building amortization and maintenance. Test score averages.

But I had an eye opening experience. For essentially my entire school life I had been in normal classes with students who functioned at grade level. Then one year I (about 16 or 17 years old at the time) was placed in a high school English class. A number of students in that class could not read proficiently. The teacher would ask them to read a passage from a book and they would stumble painfully through the text. Not over hard words. Just over normal words.

It was clear that these students had been passed on from one grade to the next without ever mastering the material. I understand the teacher's position. Hold the child back and you'll get nothing but anger from the parents and from the school system. Far easier to palm them off on the next teacher in line. It is a systemic failure mode.

Extending the school year by an additional 30 days will not help such students. I am not sure what would. I am not an educator. I am just an ordinary civilian -- who has also turned my back on those individuals and has given them little thought as I proceeded on my own course through life.

 

[sevensages]

In other words, kids shouldn't be allowed to be kids. And I question whether you'd get that much of an improvement. I think it would more likely lead to burnout, especially in younger children.

No. Kids would be allowed to be kids if there were not a three month long summer vacation. I want to keep recess in elementary school. Children can still have playtime. I want to continue to have no school on Saturday and Sundays. But a three month long break in the summer is excessive.

When I was a child, I looked forward to the Summer vacation in late Spring, but after about two weeks of summer vacation, I looked forward to going back to school. I saw my friends at school, and school gave me something productive to do.

Of course there would be an improvement in children's educations if school were year round. It is just common sense that if you increase the amount of time people spend in school learning academics, the students will learn more academically. Public school is year round in Japan, and the students in public school in Japan are far ahead of American students academically.

It would also be interesting to see what happens when a majority of working people with children in school applies to take their vacation in the same two week period.

It would be no more interesting than to see what has always happened when a majority of working people with children in school applied to take their vacation at Christmas or for the same period at Spring break. It does not result in any major calamities.

 

[sevensages]

For us (1960's and 70's midwest US) it was a three month vacation from June through August. My parents were both teachers, so the entire family had three months each year not tied down by anything. We spent the first three weeks of each summer picking a direction, hopping into the car and camping our way across the country. The rest of each summer still stretched out before us, seemingly infinite from the perspective of my child's eyes.

In my view, six weeks would also have been acceptable. I would expect that extending the school year from 180 classroom days to 210 days would result in significantly improved educational outcomes.

I do not know how such an increase would feed into the ability to attract and pay for quality teachers.

However...

It is easy to discuss education like a spreadsheet. Classroom days per year. Classroom size. Teacher salary per student. Building amortization and maintenance. Test score averages.

But I had an eye opening experience. For essentially my entire school life I had been in normal classes with students who functioned at grade level. Then one year I (about 16 or 17 years old at the time) was placed in a high school English class. A number of students in that class could not read proficiently. The teacher would ask them to read a passage from a book and they would stumble painfully through the text. Not over hard words. Just over normal words.

It was clear that these students had been passed on from one grade to the next without ever mastering the material. I understand the teacher's position. Hold the child back and you'll get nothing but anger from the parents and from the school system. Far easier to palm them off on the next teacher in line. It is a systemic failure mode.

Extending the school year by an additional 30 days will not help such students. I am not sure what would. I am not an educator. I am just an ordinary civilian -- who has also turned my back on those individuals and has given them little thought as I proceeded on my own course through life.

What would help those students would be to put them in special education. We have had special education for students who cannot learn the curriculum in regular academic classes for decades in America. Those students learn more in special education. Your last three paragraphs are a red herring.

 

[sevensages]

I guess that's debatable. When I was at school, the summer break was about six weeks.

What country did you go to school in ? In America, the summer break is approximately three months (usually just a hair under three months like eleven weeks). Reducing the summer vacation from three months to six weeks would be a big improvement, but I think that even six weeks is excessive. I think one or two weeks would be okay.

 

[sevensages]

This. It's 2025, I know some people don't want to belive this, but we are not robots. We need breaks. Children need breaks. And not short ones. Children need more rest, because they are growing up! Again, it's 2025 and we already know that hustle culture is not the way to go.

I got burnout on summer vacation after about two weeks.

 

[DaveC426913]

I am asking if a three month long vacation for children from grades kindergarten to grade 12 is stupid.

Define "stupid".

Who might it be stupid to?

• The children?
• The teens, who need the time for summer jobs so they have money and independence and college tuition?
• The teachers? Who often work hundreds of hour of unpaid overtime during the school year?
• The parents? Who otherwise would not get a few weeks of quality vacation time?
• The communities and businesses that depend on the summer influx of tourists and vacationers that power whole towns?

 

[DaveC426913]

It is just common sense

Do you think your idea of common sense is the same as mine?

 

[sevensages]

Define "stupid".

Stupid: to unnecessarily close public schools for three months in the summer, which has significant opportunity costs for students' educations.

Who might it be stupid to?

• The children?
• The teens, who need the time for summer jobs so they have money and independence and college tuition?

A lot of teenagers age 18 and 19 who have already graduated from high school work to pay for college tuition, but very few teenagers working summer jobs in high school are saving up for college tuition. What high school students work for is to save up for a car and other miscellaneous expenses, mostly to have money to do stuff for fun such as going to the movies, etc.

The teenagers can work those jobs during the school year, or they could just wait until after they graduate from high school to start work. We should focus more on grades K-12 education.

• The teachers? Who often work hundreds of hour of unpaid overtime during the school year?
• The parents? Who otherwise would not get a few weeks of quality vacation time?
• The communities and businesses that depend on the summer influx of tourists and vacationers that power whole towns?

The three month long summer vacation is stupid for everyone.

 

[nasu]

Children would get better educations if school was year round for two reasons:

1# Teachers could cover more total curriculum in 12 months than in 9 months.

But you'll have to replace the teachers every few years. Thinking about summer vacation it's what keeps them going. I suppose you don't realize how nerve breaking is teaching middle and elementary school nowadays. Or maybe you are in a very nice environment and not a run of the mill public school in North America. And think about kids getting restless as the summer approaches. Tell them that they have to keep going.

 

[PeroK]

What country did you go to school in ? In America, the summer break is approximately three months (usually just a hair under three months like eleven weeks). Reducing the summer vacation from three months to six weeks would be a big improvement, but I think that even six weeks is excessive. I think one or two weeks would be okay.

Scotland. It's currently 7 weeks, which is probably what is was back then. I got free school and university education.

One or two weeks is absurd.

 

[DaveC426913]

One or two weeks is absurd.

I think the assumed alternative is one or two weeks three to four times per year.

Same amount of time off, just spread around.

 

[DaveC426913]

Man, I hate the word 'stupid'. It's meaningless and unimaginative.

Can we work a little on more descriptive terms? What's 'stupid' about it?

 

[PeroK]

@jbriggs444 many years ago, I was watching the US Open Tennis. Andy Roddick was playing Giles Muller from Luxembourg. The commentators wanted to find something interesting about that country and came back with the fact that Luxembourg had a 100% literacy rate. I've never heard anything like the silence that followed. You could sense their total failure to comprehend this. In the end they laughed it off, recovered their wits and fifteen minutes later the USA was once again the envy of the world in all respects. But, for a couple of minutes their faith was sorely tested.

 

[PeroK]

I think the assumed alternative is one or two weeks three to four times per year.

Same amount of time off, just spread around.

We have Christmas and Easter breaks as well. It's also worth noting that the teachers holidays are shorter as they have preparation to do before each term.

 

[Choppy]

There is research on this topic. See for example:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8356518/
"Students at single‐track YRE schools show modestly higher achievement in both math and reading—by a magnitude similar to estimates of summer learning loss—but comparable proficiency."

But consider the costs:

• Many teachers choose that profession BECAUSE it means they get the summers off to pursue other things. If forced to teach year round, you risk losing your workforce.
• The summer also provides teachers with opportunities to learn more, and bring that learning into their classrooms.
• Increased costs of maintaining schools year-round. Think about air-conditioning, janitorial services, etc. And you'll probably need to pay your teachers more if you're not giving them summers off.
• Less young people working seasonal jobs.
  Without specifically debating some of the points above, I think it's a fair statement that young people can earn more money working full time over the summer than they can with interspersed part-time work during the year. Whether they save this money education, or use it to buy cars or whatever, it's economically valuable either way. Plus there are seasonal industries that need workers.
• Summer Education
  Science camp, dance camp, computer camp, space camp, band camp, arts camp, sports camp, fishing with Grandpa, baking with Grandma, hobbies like building RC cars, lemonade stand, building jumps for your bicycle, etc... there are a lot of opportunities for learning outside of school.

In the end, this is one of those issues where there are benefits and costs either way. And even if one way proves more beneficial in the end, I don't think it's fair to label the opposing point of view "stupid."

 

[weirdoguy]

It is just common sense

In Poland school ends around 20th of june and stars 1 of september. Two months. Hard months for me, because as a private teacher I barely have any work.

 

[PeterDonis]

When I was a child, I looked forward to the Summer vacation in late Spring, but after about two weeks of summer vacation, I looked forward to going back to school. I saw my friends at school, and school gave me something productive to do.

My experience was different. I saw my friends plenty during summer vacation--in fact it was nicer for me because I could see them without having to also put up with all the bothersome people I was forced to interact with at school. And I had plenty of productive things to do all during vacation. I was never bored. In fact I was more bored at school than during vacation. (Typical vacation when I was in school was about 2-1/2 months, mid June through the end of August.)

 

[sevensages]

Man, I hate the word 'stupid'. It's meaningless and unimaginative.

Can we work a little on more descriptive terms? What's 'stupid' about it?

It is stupid because there is no need for students to be out of school during the summer. It is stupid because it wastes over two months that could be used productively to better people's educations.

 

[sevensages]

But you'll have to replace the teachers every few years. Thinking about summer vacation it's what keeps them going. I suppose you don't realize how nerve breaking is teaching middle and elementary school nowadays. Or maybe you are in a very nice environment and not a run of the mill public school in North America. And think about kids getting restless as the summer approaches. Tell them that they have to keep going.

There are a couple of things that we can do to incentivise people to want to be teachers:

1# Raise property taxes to increase teachers' pay substantially

2# Make the teacher's jobs easier by expelling disruptive students.----The first thing to do is restore paddling in public schools. Disruptive students should be paddled. If the disruptive students' parents do not consent to their disruptive sons or daughters to be paddled, then the disruptive student either gets expelled from school altogether or get expelled from the normal classes and has to attend school in a special holding area for disruptive students. In the unlikely event that paddling does not cause a student to stop being disruptive, then the disruptive student shall be expelled.

 

[sevensages]

My experience was different. I saw my friends plenty during summer vacation--in fact it was nicer for me because I could see them without having to also put up with all the bothersome people I was forced to interact with at school. And I had plenty of productive things to do all during vacation. I was never bored. In fact I was more bored at school than during vacation. (Typical vacation when I was in school was about 2-1/2 months, mid June through the end of August.)

Students would get a better education if public school was year round.

 

[sevensages]

Japan has public schools in session year round. There is no summer vacation in Japan. And in Japan, students have to attend class six days per week. Japanese people tend to be much better educated than Americans. There is far less poverty in Japan than in America. There is far less crime in Japan than in America. Year round schools work for the Japanese.

 

[DaveC426913]

It is stupid because there is no need for students to be out of school during the summer.

Stupid does not mean what you seem to think it means.

It is stupid because it wastes over two months that could be used productively to better people's educations.

Is that the goal? Productivity? Not, say, work/life balance? or happiness?

Are you comfortable deciding that for others?

Are you cognizant of the fact that life tends to get harder and more stressful once one leaves school (for example: trying to find activities to keep their school age children from getting bored because they wont entertain themselves)? And that maybe you're not in a very good position to judge what's stupid for others?

If you personally find the summer break boring, why not spend it in a way that's more productive for you? How many books did you read? How often did you visit the library? Did you use the time to learn a new language, or get ahead on your math?

Wouldn't it make more sense for everyone to have individual freedom, so that those who want quality time with their children can do so and you, who want to keep learning, can do so?

What have you done this summer to achieve your own goals?

 

[jbriggs444]

What would help those students would be to put them in special education. We have had special education for students who cannot learn the curriculum in regular academic classes for decades in America. Those students learn more in special education.

It would be easy to read this as saying that unproficient students is a solved problem. That the solution is called "special education" and that this solution has been in place for decades. But I know that you stopped short of calling special ed a solution. You only characterized it as an effective approach.

You may be right. Perhaps the best we can do is Individualized Educational Programs and short busses. Perhaps this is orthogonal to the choice between 6 week and 12 week vacations. Though the idea of remedial 12 week summer school is attractive.

 

[sevensages]

Stupid does not mean what you seem to think it means.


Is that the goal? Productivity?

Yes.

Not, say, work/life balance? or happiness?

Yes. A 2 week summer vacation would be a much better work/life balance than a 12 week summer vacation. There is an enormous amount of poverty in the world. This enormous amount of poverty in the world causes an enormous amount of human suffering. An educated workforce will be a far more productive workforce than an uneducated workforce. The better people are educated, the more productive they will be at work. The more money that a workforce generates, the more money that that workforce can afford to give to poor people to help alleviate their suffering caused by poverty. This should be the priority, not a work/life balance. We should put our humanity before being Americans (or whatever nationality that you are).

Are you comfortable deciding that for others?

Yes.

Are you cognizant of the fact that life tends to get harder and more stressful once one leaves school (for example: trying to find activities to keep their school age children from getting bored because they wont entertain themselves)?

Yes.

And that maybe you're not in a very good position to judge what's stupid for others?

It's common sense . When I was in elementary school, the first month or two of a school year would be wasted just trying to catch up on the material that everyone forgot over the ridiculous three month long summer vacation.

If you personally find the summer break boring, why not spend it in a way that's more productive for you? How many books did you read? How often did you visit the library? Did you use the time to learn a new language, or get ahead on your math?

I'm a trucker, not a student.

Wouldn't it make more sense for everyone to have individual freedom, so that those who want quality time with their children can do so and you, who want to keep learning, can do so?

Nope. It's kind of an all or nothing thing if we are talking about public schools.

What have you done this summer to achieve your own goals?

I worked all summer as a long distance truck driver.

 

[PeterDonis]

Are you comfortable deciding that for others?

Yes.

You shouldn't be. All human history shows that we humans are very poor at deciding things for others. There are cases where it has to be done (for example, parents about things their children aren't yet old enough to understand, or caregivers of people who are either temporarily or permanently incapacitated), but those cases are very limited in scope. You're basically saying you know better than everyone else how society should educate people. I don't buy it.

 

[PeterDonis]

It's kind of an all or nothing thing if we are talking about public schools.

So maybe the answer is to not have a one-size-fits-all public education system, but let different people with different preferences work out what suits them best.

 

[PeterDonis]

There is an enormous amount of poverty in the world. This enormous amount of poverty in the world causes an enormous amount of human suffering. An educated workforce will be a far more productive workforce than an uneducated workforce. The better people are educated, the more productive they will be at work.

You're assuming that the primary cause of world poverty is lack of education. I don't think that's true. I think the primary cause of world poverty is misgovernment--that countries whose people are mostly poor are governed poorly, and their governments are not held accountable for that. I think that even with the current state of education, people who are poor because they are unable to be productive aren't that way because they aren't educated well enough, but because there are political barriers in the way of them being productive. (In many underdeveloped countries, the barrier is obvious: anything a private person produces, the government takes away. There's no incentive to produce under those conditions, even if you're the most productive worker in the world.)

 

[PeterDonis]

The better people are educated, the more productive they will be at work.

Even leaving aside the political issues, I'm not sure this is true either. At least, not if "education" means what you are using it to mean in this discussion, attending public schools throughout your entire childhood and adolescence. Much of what is taught in public schools (and in colleges) has little or no relationship to productivity. Nor is it taught for the purpose of making people more productive. It's taught for a variety of other reasons, including a vague idea that "general knowledge" about a variety of subjects is a good thing, and also to induce conformity. (If that last bothers you, bear in mind that the people who designed the US public education system in the late 19th and early 20th centuries explicitly gave as a goal that the schools would indoctrinate children to be compliant citizens who obeyed the government.)

 

[BillTre]

You're assuming that the primary cause of world poverty is lack of education. I don't think that's true. I think the primary cause of world poverty is misgovernment--that countries whose people are mostly poor are governed poorly, and their governments are not held accountable for that. I think that even with the current state of education, people who are poor because they are unable to be productive aren't that way because they aren't educated well enough, but because there are political barriers in the way of them being productive. (In many underdeveloped countries, the barrier is obvious: anything a private person produces, the government takes away. There's no incentive to produce under those conditions, even if you're the most productive worker in the world.)

Interesting perspective.
I would add that people having a motivated attitude to do things themselves would be an important component. This may be wrapped up in the political barriers what the government does.
Without motivation, nothing will happen.

 

[PeterDonis]

people having a motivated attitude to do things themselves would be an important component.

Yes, I agree. And I would argue that our public school systems not only do not encourage this, they actively discourage it. Which would be another reason to be skeptical of the OP's belief that more public school education improves productivity.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Japan has public schools in session year round. There is no summer vacation in Japan

Japanese schools have about two/two and a half months of total vacation time, usually split between a month/month and a half in summer - duration depending on region - and around a couple weeks each in spring and winter. The three breaks separate the three terms that tend to make up the school year.

I don't know where you got that year round idea from.

 

[sevensages]

You're assuming that the primary cause of world poverty is lack of education.

No. You're assuming that I am assuming that the primary cause of world poverty is a lack of education. But I am not assuming that. I am assuming that PART of the cause of world poverty is a lack of education. Furthermore, a better educated workforce in America can make more money to give to the Third World.

I don't think that's true. I think the primary cause of world poverty is misgovernment--that countries whose people are mostly poor are governed poorly, and their governments are not held accountable for that. I think that even with the current state of education, people who are poor because they are unable to be productive aren't that way because they aren't educated well enough, but because there are political barriers in the way of them being productive. (In many underdeveloped countries, the barrier is obvious: anything a private person produces, the government takes away. There's no incentive to produce under those conditions, even if you're the most productive worker in the world.)

I think that the primary cause of world poverty is misgovernment too. That doesn't change the fact that if America made more money due to a better educated workforce in America, America would be able to generate more money to donate to the Third World.

 

[Janus]

I got burnout on summer vacation after about two weeks.

So basically, you are using "I'm cold, put on a coat." reasoning.

 

[PeterDonis]

You're assuming that I am assuming that the primary cause of world poverty is a lack of education.

I'm inferring it from your posts.

if America made more money due to a better educated workforce in America

I've already said I don't think lower productivity is due to poor education. So I don't agree with your premise here. We already have lots of well educated people in America who can't find jobs because the market for labor is so inefficient, for reasons which have nothing to do with education.

America would be able to generate more money to donate to the Third World.

But we already know what happens to most of the money America donates to the Third World: it gets stolen by corrupt governments there. That's why, even though we've been donating money to the Third World for decades, the Third World is in no better shape now than it was then (and arguably is in worse shape in many ways).

I think that the primary cause of world poverty is misgovernment too.

Then you should be focusing on fixing that, since until it's fixed other efforts are doomed to failure. See above. How to fix that would be a separate discussion for a separate thread.

 

[pinball1970]

I guess that's debatable. When I was at school, the summer break was about six weeks.

Spoken like a Brit, Robson Crusoe, White Horses and Banana splits.
EDIT: I remember getting homework from being about 12 so it was not all fun and games.

 

[PeroK]

Spoken like a Brit, Robson Crusoe, White Horses and Banana splits.
EDIT: I remember getting homework from being about 12 so it was not all fun and games.

Belle and Sebastian; The Flashing Blade (I still remember the theme song!).

 

[JT Smith]

Do you agree with me?

No.

I agree that making children go to school more continuously (and for longer hours as well) will result in some sort of increase in measured scholastic achievement and likely success and productivity as adults. But I don't agree that that's the most important thing in life.

I think that adults should have at least 6 weeks of continuous vacation each year. More would be better.

Consider that your disdain for summer vacation as a child made you an outlier.

 

[TensorCalculus]

I personally am a big fan of summer break, even as a pretty big nerd who DOES enjoy school, and who lives outside of the city by school is in and thus can't really see my friends very often even during summer (and yes, I do enjoy being around my friends very much):

• Summer break is a great time for us to go abroad to visit family or just to go as tourists somewhere, for a long time. If I want to see my family on the other side of the world, I would want it to be for more than a week, no? Also if I'm paying that much for a plane ticket, might as well stay awhile. I don't know how it is in other places but in Britain it's a criminal offence to take your child out of school for a holiday. Seriously. The fine is over £100 per parent, per child.
• It gives me time to work on my own projects rather than having to worry about what work is going on in school at the same time: which is great for pursuing my own passions and goals or taking on programmes which run in the summer
• And even if I didn't do that, I got a break during the scorching weather to go and be the kid I am, rather than have to sit in a classroom hearing my teacher go on about history or whatever. Children get hot and bothered in the summer in a stuffy classroom: I seriously doubt that the extra 3 months would even make that much of a difference in the long run. The lack of the break will probably cause them to burn out, I can see that happening with some of my class (and probably myself to be honest, studying Latin without breaks sounds like a nightmare)
• Plus, no summer would make it a lot harder to define rigidly when one school year starts and one ends no?

 

[sevensages]

No.

I agree that making children go to school more continuously (and for longer hours as well) will result in some sort of increase in measured scholastic achievement and likely success and productivity as adults. But I don't agree that that's the most important thing in life.

It's more important than vacations.

I think that adults should have at least 6 weeks of continuous vacation each year. More would be better.

Consider that your disdain for summer vacation as a child made you an outlier.

I did not look at summer vacation per se with disdain. In my childhood, I always got excited about the summer vacation. The problem is that the summer vacation is way too long. Two weeks would be a lot more appropriate than three months.

 

[sevensages]

I personally am a big fan of summer break, even as a pretty big nerd who DOES enjoy school, and who lives outside of the city by school is in and thus can't really see my friends very often even during summer (and yes, I do enjoy being around my friends very much):

• Summer break is a great time for us to go abroad to visit family or just to go as tourists somewhere, for a long time. If I want to see my family on the other side of the world, I would want it to be for more than a week, no? Also if I'm paying that much for a plane ticket, might as well stay awhile. I don't know how it is in other places but in Britain it's a criminal offence to take your child out of school for a holiday. Seriously. The fine is over £100 per parent, per child.

I think that two weeks is a proper amount of time for a summer vacation. The summer vacation's lasting three months is a tradition that started with the advent of public schools in the 19th century. With the advent of modern airplanes in the early 20th century, one can travel anywhere in the whole world and back in two weeks.

• It gives me time to work on my own projects rather than having to worry about what work is going on in school at the same time: which is great for pursuing my own passions and goals or taking on programmes which run in the summer

You can work on your own projects during a two week summer vacation, and then you can work on your projects on the weekends during the school year.

• And even if I didn't do that, I got a break during the scorching weather to go and be the kid I am, rather than have to sit in a classroom hearing my teacher go on about history or whatever. Children get hot and bothered in the summer in a stuffy classroom: I seriously doubt that the extra 3 months would even make that much of a difference in the long run. The lack of the break will probably cause them to burn out, I can see that happening with some of my class (and probably myself to be honest, studying Latin without breaks sounds like a nightmare)

That is what air-conditioning is for.

• Plus, no summer would make it a lot harder to define rigidly when one school year starts and one ends no?

Nope. The summer vacation could be from July 16 to August 01 every year. The school year rigidly starts on August 01, and the school year rigidly ends on July 16. Nope, no confusion there.