Regular School Vs. Year-Round Schooling

Compare and Contrast

Essay #2

Traditional Schooling vs. Year-Round Schooling

Education is the fundamental key to our everyday lives. Knowledge is what keeps our economic growth possible. We are all taught, since childhood, that learning is a way to empower one’s self, which is why our school systems are an important part of our society. Our futures are determined based on the knowledge obtained throughout our lives. School systems across America (and the world) strive to provide the best education possible to our youth. Modifying school calendars would create differences in extra classes and vacation between year-round and traditional schooling. Despite these differences, both require the same courses and standards, as well as providing child care during school. Considering the vast growth in education importance, children are expanding their knowledge from the beginning of the educational careers.

Intersession courses are short classes provided during breaks in a modified school year. These classes include sports, reading, languages, dance, etc; they last for approximately two weeks and are offered after each quarter; four times a year. This is a time-effective way in order for students to continue developing their knowledge. This differs to the regular school schedule where the breaks are at the end of the year. Unlike the traditional agenda, the new school year schedule allows students to choose extra courses they may be interested in. This also exposes students to other subjects that otherwise may not have been covered in a regular school year. This modified school calendar organizes students for their continued education, college; where classes also follow a year- round format. Making the transition at an early age can help children handle confusions or complications in the future.

Summer vacation is a cherished gift for students. Vacationing, socializing, and just relaxing are some words that define the summer. Year-round schedules interfere with these plans. In contrast with traditional schooling, the modified agenda permits only one month for summer vacation. Despite the cut back on the leisure time, this schedule implements short two-week breaks throughout the school year. This is a potential benefit factor for those students who may lack educational resources during the summer. A concern for many teachers, as well as parents, is that students tend to forget much of what was taught to them during the school year. As a result, several weeks in the new school year are spent re-teaching previous material. Implementing the year-round program allows teachers to better prepare themselves for the new curriculum; compared to a traditional calendar; where teachers have the whole summer to plan. Changing learning habitats and adjusting to a different summer routine may be difficult to getting use to, but both schedules have similar styles/ ideas as well.

The key purpose of schooling is to increase education. This is a constant factor amongst the traditional and modified school calendars. Both agendas propose the same requirement courses as well as extra curricular activities. Students attend school the same amount of required days; yet they are given the choice to register for optional classes.