Last week, the Minnesota Association of School Administrators announced a proposal for all Minnesota schools to add 25 school days to their calendars, extending the current school year to approximately 200 days. While the idea has many students, parents and teachers up in arms, we believe it's time we seriously considered re-arranging the school schedule.
Originally, kids got June, July and August off from school in order to help around the farm during the busiest months. Obviously, this concept is no longer practical. We have kept the three-month vacation because many schools are without air conditioning, and it seems a bit silly to expect kids to concentrate in a crowded, 90-degree classroom.
The issue has come up time and time again. In the early 1990s, state lawmakers approved 10 additional school days, but repealed the action due to political pressure. In 1997, three days were added to the calendar, but that act was also quickly undone. Minnesota is currently the only state without a statewide minimum requirement of school days - each district sets its own calendar, between 170 and 175 days.
This time around, the superintendents say extra school days are needed for Minnesota students to stay competitive on the national and global levels. Some say the extra days will not only help advanced students learn more, but will allow slower students more time to grasp standard concepts, thereby improving test scores all around.
While the idea of sitting inside taking tests while the much-too-brief summer passes quickly by outside the window isn't appealing to anyone, consider the benefits. A shorter vacation would cut down on the learning gap many students experience between school years. More working days would mean more training and higher pay for teachers. More school days would create more school funding.
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Some argue the resort industry is reliant on a lengthy summer vacation; not only do vacation destinations depend on family trips for income, they also employ many teenagers throughout the warmer months. It's true, resorts may take a financial hit if kids go back to school earlier or are let out later. As unfortunate as that is - especially to our resort-laden region - resort profits should not be a consideration in the education of our children. It's insulting to suggest kids should be kept out of school in order to support the vacation industry. When you pit education versus profit, education should always win, hands down. Besides, the resort industry has been slowly fading for years, and there is no proof keeping kids out of the classroom would improve (or even moderate) the situation.
As for the argument that teenagers' summer jobs are vital to teach responsibility and create savings for college - superintendent Stan Mack of the Robbinsdale School District told the Star Tribune it's makes more sense for children to do better in school and earn scholarships than to stump for minimum wage all summer. He has a valid point.
However, there is one obvious flaw in this plan, and it's a pretty big one: funding. Minnesota can barely support the schools it has now. How could we possibly pay for more school days? Extra school days shouldn't even be mentioned unless a plan to pay for them immediately follows.
The school year extension is most certainly going to fail, just as it has in years past. But we're glad it's being discussed again, if for no other reason that to force people to concentrate on our state's slowly-fading education system. Perhaps this time, new options will be seriously considered, such as a longer winter break in return for a shorter summer vacation, more four-day weekends scattered throughout the year or Saturday morning classes. With everyone struggling to improve the education system, maybe it's time to tinker with the time-honored tradition of summer vacation. Though sacrificing a three-month break may seem almost sacrilegious to some, we'll never know what works best until we try everything.
