_Ender_

I have been hearing this going around in the news recently. The idea behind it is simple. Instead of having a big break for Summer, you get a set of smaller breaks through out the entire school year. Its based off of what European schools have been doing for years.

So, is it a good idea? Should our school systems switch to this?


discuss.

DudeMan

they are doing this in England and wales too, sometime in the next few years... it sounds crap too me, i loved the 6 weeks, its a proper break, imagine how stressfull it would be to have such a small window to organise a vacation... then multiply that by the entire population of parents.

__________________


The Queen
"Those who perpetrate these brutal acts against innocent people should know that they will not change our way of life,"
Atrocities such as these simply reinforce our sense of community

TheFeniX
"Guns don't kill people: effeminate men in green tunics do"

Wyzcrak

I was bad about stressing when I was in school. I remember the feeling when I graduated college... the luxury of being able to leave work at work (something I'm still not good enough at yet).

In school, I couldn't really enjoy my time away enough because the fact was that I could be spending that time preparing for what's next, be it a book to read, an exam, a group project.. whatever.

It seems to me that someone with my disposition toward education would suffer moreso from the smaller breaks, as smaller breaks means a more close arrival of what's next.

__________________
Steam Community? Add me. | Join #tacticalgamer | Search Results Legend | New Posts Forum Filter | Postbox Toggle | Live Thread Review | One Line Results | Free Remote, Encrypted Backup

Darkilla: In short, NS is pretty much really fast chess. With guns. Apophis: I haven't seen anyone say that SM's are better than non-SMs. Nordbomber: This is THE first server I've seen where either side can comeback from out of seemingly nowhere with the right teamwork. en4rcment: I have NEVER experienced the type of gameplay that I have found here. Nightly I am amazed at the personalities and gaming talent. Root: Welcome to TG. Feel free to punctuate your sentences correctly. Monkerz: Its gonna take all my skills to beat those boys off in the future.

DudeMan

well this is the exact reason i have took a year away from university, i couldnt do it anymore... all the worrying year in year out, no breaks at all really because there is always something to do... i actually enjoyed doing the **** job with the crap money... because when i went home i was free and when the end of the week came i could go out down the pub because i was being paid instead of being a scint student.

__________________


The Queen
"Those who perpetrate these brutal acts against innocent people should know that they will not change our way of life,"
Atrocities such as these simply reinforce our sense of community

TheFeniX
"Guns don't kill people: effeminate men in green tunics do"

asch

Some school districts do have year round schooling in the states. I think there are pros and cons to each way. What I don't like is ppl thinking that year around schooling is going to fix the problem with under-educated students. It has to start at home with the parents and also at school with good teachers. It doesnt' take a lot of money pumped into the school system (except to pay good teachers) and it doesn't take year round schooling.

I have quite a few teachers in the family... I'm marrying a teacher who is from a family of teachers so I get to hear all of the talk from new and old teachers.

And damnit... we need to quit babying our kids and students with all of this PC type crap. They just grow up wanting everything handed to them and made easy. Part of that comes from our school system.

Root

The reason this is being done in the UK is supposedly to raise education standards. My problem is that the old system worked for me. My son is in his second year of school, but this is the first year he's had literacy hour and numeracy hour. When I was his age, I would have been in my second year of it. This is all just a smokescreen behind which they'll produce more proles in this generation than in the last one.

Root

CingularDuality

Yes...

My kid's gonna start Kindergarten next year and we're still torn over whether to put him in public school, private school or home school him... There's more to an education than the three Rs, so his social education will undoubtedly be better at a public school. But a private or home school will likewise offer a much better academic education simply due to available resources.

Oh, and when I was in elementary school, I remember the school board discussing switching to a year-round schedule. Most people were against it, and I was glad we didn't switch. Just think about how much non-academic stuff you learned during the summer! The summers were when you really learned about life...

__________________

Become a supporting member! -- Shop at the Tactical Market!

Take the world's smallest political quiz! "I was touched by His Noodly Appendage."
TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

luna

At the beginning of the school year, I was fired up and ready to take on the year. I kept this energy all the way until winter break- 2 weeks, right over Christmas and New Years. Since then, I have been struggling to regain my momentum. That break was just long enough for me to enjoy my free time and just short enough for me to be craving more time to myself. The summer break is ideal, I think, because it allows enough time for a mental "reset". By the time vacation is over, you're excited to get back into the swing with a fresh plate to start with. We just had 1 week off in Feb, and one more coming up this month. I have found myself simply waiting until the next break to occur since New Years. (Just 2 1/2 more weeks- then I get a breather!) I find it counterproductive to have these tiny breaks.

__________________
Resurgent's New Motivational Motto:
"Now train harder! Live inside your character! If it dies, YOU DIE! Focus!"

Jesus had a soulstone.

Pokerface

I'd go with Luna on this one. If the concept were to add more time to the school year, thus requiring year-round schooling, then I might be for it. But frequent breaks are just frequent lapses in concentration for me; I prefer to plow through and get it done; that way, I don't need to form a new mindset. I can have "school time" and "break time", and not have to be switching between the two more than once a year.

__________________

NS Game Officer. TF2 Admin. BF2 Admin / Scripter. PM with issues.
Tempus: Pokerface is nailing it right on the head. Everyone who is arguing against him is simply arguing against reality.
<anmuzi> it is not permitted to have privacy or anonymity
<LazyEye> yeah when I play on TG the server digs though my trash
Arm yourself with knowledge: TG NS TF2 BF2

Wintermute

I don't think home schooling is a good idea. The jungle of school social life is an important trial in growing up and the friendships you make in high school are ones you will always treasure.

__________________
Wintermute

Play EVE online. It's like being an accounting addict in space.

www.MakePovertyHistory.com

asch

A lot of that depends on how the kids are raised and home-schooled. There are plenty of ways to gain social interaction. Some home schools actually take in a couple students from other families. This keeps the class size very small yet provides the home school attention. Beyond the home schooling, the kids need to be involved. There's boy / girl scouts... students can still participate in sports and other clubs.

There are definitely social advantages to actually sending the kid to school, but school shouldn't be the only place the kid learns his social skills.

CingularDuality

Yeah, there are a lot of people here in my small Texas town that home school, and the public schools are required by law to allow home-schooled students to participate in any extra curricular activities (sports, band, JROTC, etc...), but I think you're right. There was just so much stuff that you had to deal with in school, that I can't imagine learning how to deal with life from any other situation. And I see it every day with my coworkers. A lot of them came from upper middle class families and they went to private schools. They have no clue how the world works. They can function in it, but they don't understand a lot of the stuff that seems so obvious to me...

__________________

Become a supporting member! -- Shop at the Tactical Market!

Take the world's smallest political quiz! "I was touched by His Noodly Appendage."
TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

Wintermute

On the other hand, in some careers it is a requirement to be in the right "Old Boy's club" by coming from the right private school, at least in England. On the whole though, I would rather have a socially well adjusted child than a warped but high flying child.

__________________
Wintermute

Play EVE online. It's like being an accounting addict in space.

www.MakePovertyHistory.com

section-8

Ive been going to school 6-8 hrs a day every day since about dec/2002 ...biggest breaks ive had are 2 weeks at christmas...and whatever leave I can manage to take (i got to take a week once...)
I really wish I could take a summer off....oh well...

__________________

Root

Indeed old chap, but Cing's point is still spot on. It's beneath many of these people to do things like load the dishwasher or, heaven forbid, wash the dishes by hand.

Root