by ProudScHeritage

Created on: December 07, 2006   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

My eldest daughter came home with a paper she needed to finish by the next day. At eight years old she was ecstatic about having a year long school year! The paper was actually a letter to her principal asking her to please allow them to have a year long school year. I assume the letters from the children will then be gathered by the principal and handed over to the school board for review. I have to wait until the next PTA for more information. My daughter's teacher had told the children wonderful things about having such a school year but my daughter had not grasped what it really meant. All she was hearing was that every nine weeks the children would get two whole weeks out of school. She did not understand that there would no longer be a summer vacation, or that the only break she would ever have out of the rest of her school days would be those measly two weeks every nine weeks. I'm not too fond of this idea for a few reasons and I am sure there are plenty of parents that support this idea. But when are children supposed to be children if they are always at school? Especially with the growing issue of homework that takes so much time it seems the parents are doing the teaching? Homework that takes more than an hour to complete, especially if a child doesn't understand the work and needs to take that extra time to complete it. What about the families that go on RV trips across country? Or the families that take an extended vacation, those who visit long distance relatives? Doctor visits, family time, anything and everything would have to be scheduled around those two weeks. Not all parents would have the ability to schedule their vacation time or sick days around those allotted weeks off. These children won't have a chance to wind down and enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood or the summer. There are so many things that our children and families will miss out on if our school systems go to a year long school year. I personally feel it is just too much for families and their children.

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