The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
It’s August, which means school is about to start after a short summer break.
Do you wish local school districts would change to a year-round schedule, or are you good with the current schedule?
Talk about it….
30 comments
they cant even afford to run school now
with funds being diverted to illegals and the budget cuts from 20 years ago have put the school system into a 3rd world country status
no basic supplies …paper pencils crayons
teachers forced to have 35 plus in a room with 5-7 illegals who don’t speak English or very little
gangs forcing students who want to learn into hiding and or joining
public schools are just low grade scams for money
just like a fictional daycare center only having kids watch tv as they charge the state money per child
fix the problems before trying to increase the length of the problem
I always wonder why voters love giving criminals everything but let politicians take from the schools until there is nothing
Do you just make up facts to fit your political narrative? It appears that way. Have you visited any schools in the last 20 years?
Students who don’t speak English are assigned to an ESL class.
Gang bangers don’t go to school.
I do agree the state has underfunded education to an abysmal level resulting in a failing school system.
no
I think it’s sad to see kid’s summer vacation squeezed and shortened and school ending anytime after June 5th (or so) or starting before September 5th (or so)…if teachers need more to justify their salaries, have them mentor or paint, clean the schools during the summer. Kids could also devote one day+ a week. Would be good for borh.
I wouldn’t mind a year round schedule. But then again, I don’t need to pay for a babysitter either, my kids are older.
Absolutely Not-This has been tested for the past 20 years and yet of the 1,054 school districts in the state of California, only 156 use year-round programs.
Nearby West County Unified School District tried this in the 90’s the biggest problem was trying to get childcare for students during off weeks often leaving kids alone at home unattended. If the child had friends in the same neighborhood they would sometimes be on different tracks
Also, if you had a child grade K-6 and and another child grade 7-12 they were not on the same schedule. Siblings were more often to be absent because when one or the other child stayed home and the other had to go to school.
Absolutely NOT! Year round school is a PITA for parents and educators alike. Though my offspring is now an adult I would have suffered greatly if they had been on year-round school – I was a single parent and when some kids are “off track” there are no camps or daycare or other alternatives for care. Oh, and Please, let’s put the system of Elementary gr K-6, Middle School gr 7-9, and High School gr 10-12. 9th graders have no business hobnobbing with 12th graders – that’s where all the problems begin.
I am against it for a different reason than most people: Condsiderations for teens who work. I taught swimming lessons, worked at the seasonally opened Dairy Queen, and hoed soybeans with a crew on local farms. Having the full summer off enabled me to bank money for college.
Without the full summer break, my savings would have been a fraction of what it was.
Mary Fouts – Good for you! I’m sure that prepared you well for a good life. Also, I suspect you are a “type A”.
And I bet you were paid the minimum wage, and turned out just fine.
@Kirkwood – Yes, the skills I learned when working as a teen (I actually started teaching swimming lessons at the age of 9, then for $1 an hour), prepared me well for what we deal with in everyday life. I continued to work in college (mid 1980s): life guarded at local indoor pool, and worked as a waitress/server at the local Denny’s. Went to school year round, and graduated in 3.5 years with a major in Economics, and minors in Math, Spanish, English, and History.
And yep, I am a textbook type A personality. Have worked hard to manage it, and not be too hard on myself nor get perturbed at others too easily. Also to get sufficient sleep. Husband Jim is a type B- personality, so the teeter totter balances us out. 🙂
@ Old-school guy – I earned minimum wage at the Dairy Queen and as a teen for swimming lessons. Above minimum wage for the bean hoeing field work. In college I earned slightly above minimum wage for my lifeguard work. I also worked as a waitress at a 24-hr Denny’s; back then in Lincoln, NE waitress wage was $2.01 plus tips. I usually worked the after-bar shift 10 PM to 4 AM go get the most tips. Also anytime on NE Cornhusker home game football days.
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Exactly. I worked after school and as much as I could during the summer. I saved money to pay for my own college and buy my first house at 23. But kids nowadays don’t want to work and feel like everything should be handed to them. Working should be mandatory part of school or summer break to teach them life skills and earn a few bucks. I made $4.75/hr back then and it was plenty while living with your parents. These whiners nowadays that want a $20/hr min wage don’t realize how that affects business, employment and consumer pricing.
I don’t see how it could work. Family vacations are usually planned around breadwinner work schedules.Kids can’t just stop going to school at random intervals and expect to keep up. If it’s being done how do the school districts manage it?
Also, we never had to deal with child care.
I don’t have school age kids anymore but looking back I would’ve welcomed year round school for the simple fact that planning family vacations would’ve been easier and cheaper.
I remember how much of a hassle it was to organize and book summer vacations. Trying to get time off from work during summer was a hassle as everybody wants time in the summer. Hotels and air fares usually peak during the summer. Everywhere is crowded.
Would’ve loved booking vacations in spring or fall.
Oh, and year round should might be beneficial to the kids too.
No. There’s a misconception that year-round school costs more, which it does not, because the number of school days remains the same. However, two children in one family might have different weeks off, which makes it impossible to take a vacation. And speaking of vacation, what’s wrong with giving families a sizable amount of time to take one?
Child care? It would become more difficult to obtain. No summer camps and odd weeks off would further burden parents who need help with their children.
I don’t know any teachers who think it’s a great idea, either. Most are parents too, and family vacations are valued. What about summer sports activities? Physical education classes are already not mandatory for 12 years anymore, and sports play an important role in filling the gap.
Finally, vacation while it is pouring rain outside just is not the same as vacation out in the summer sun. Camping, anyone?
School districts have tracks. Put all your kids on the same track. Don’t like winter vacation pick a different track. Lots of schools in the Sacramento area are doing this and successfully.
Yes. A lot depends on how it is implemented though. Problems, many pointed out above, could be created if it were implemented poorly.
Keeping a similar number of days in the school year but spreading the vacation weeks out more evenly could be a good thing. Several changes would need to be made concurrently with the switch though: (1) It would need to be well announced and planned out so that childcare and daycare services have time to plan and adjust for anticipated changes. (2) Schedules between schools should be coordinated for vacation. (3) Feedback/grades should be provided for each quarter (I assume it would be a quarter system). One of the benefits of switching to a more incremental system is to avoid the problems with the current one (i.e. students cramming at the end of the year).
The college I went to had a quarter system, including a summer quarter which worked quite well and I could see the advantages as compared to my high school schedule. It can work, and it can work well. It just needs to be well-implemented, planned, and coordinated.
Yep. Figure out when to have breaks and how long they should be, but keep the kids learning (or at least in school). How about 3-week breaks in spring summer fall and winter? That’s 12 weeks off, but without the forget-it-all summer break. Teachers would still have a ton of time out of the classroom, just not all at once.
Noticing that the educational needs of the students are not a priority in the bulk of posts above.
That is why public education is in the toilet.
There may have been less dramatics surrounding teacher union strikes if the work year was comparable to every other fulltime equivalent career. While there would be little to no change in actual days worked it is the appearance that sells better, compared to hearing how teachers only work a portion of the year and don’t deserve more with a three month break.
ur right. seldom is it ever about the children. no matter what they try to sell u. teachers around here a prepping to strike rather than prepping to teach…
S…. I am a teacher and the last thing in the world I want to do is strike! I am not alone. By the way, I worked summer school and immediately after started to prep for the school year. You, are fake news!
good for you. you are not the norm. the unionistas are not gonna be happy with you for prepping out of contract hours or when you cross the picket line. I am glad to hear that at least YOU will be there for the children.
ps: I’m glad I hit a nerve. I causes people to talk about this matter.
🙂
As one who liked Summer vacations best, I’d have to say. “no” to a year-round schedule.
NO! I actually enjoy being able to back out of my driveway without the mommy parade going by. I have to plan my day around it during the school year.
We are on a modified year round in east county (Brentwood/oakley) and I love it. Even though my high schooler is in a different “district” then my other 2 kids (the high schools are in a district all their own) breaks are all the same with the exception of a couple staff development days here and there. We take our vacations during our longer fall and spring breaks. Less crowds and nicer weather. And the kids don’t forget as much over the summer.
Summer vacation is no longer three months. School used to start after Labor Day. This year MDUSD got out around the 7th of June and teachers go back August 12, students August 15.
There is a misconception by some that teachers get paid for their time off. This is not true. Teachers are paid ONLY for the185 days they work and that amount is divided into monthly payments.
For the person who said teachers are preparing for a strike, rather than for their new students I disagree. I do not know any teachers who are “preparing for a strike!” Many teachers are already going into their classrooms on their own time and preparing for the start of school while hoping things between the union and district get resolved so there is no strike!
We tried year round in the Antioch school District. The problem with it is that the schools get run down because there is no time to fix major problems. That’s one of the main reasons we went back to taking 2 months off for summer.
Bad idea. Everyone needs a break. Teachers need a break most of all. Parents need to plan the family’s vacation during the two month or is it three month schedule. Also kids need to be kids and do fun stuff. Same with middle schools and high school. Also young people need to get part time jobs. Great training for their future.
I have finally retired so I don’t care one way or another.
The BIGGEST problem is that unlike the rest of the school the Kitchen is NOT air conditioned. Got that people They don’t care about their employees that work in unbelievably hot conditions.
A few years ago when the classrooms and office got central air portable air conditioners were taken out of the offices and thrown in the DUMPSTER! Our supervisors went to maintenance and asked that they place them in the Kitchens. They were told NO! We got the message Loud and Clear. Computers (in the office) were more important.
So glad I’m done!
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