Change the vacation school year?

[Rustic23]

I did not know which forum to post this, but covid was the impetus for the idea.

As cold and flue season is winter, and covid may be the same, why not change the school year. Change nov-feb To vacation. While that would leave only 8 months of school, there would be fewer holidays, thus more or the same number of teaching days. For sure fewer colds and flue for teachers!

Might be a hard sell in states with big summer businesses, but great for ski country.

 

[pacergal]

Interesting idea, however, this summer would not be the time to crowd kids into schools.
I have always favored year round schools, anyway.

 

[Rustic23]

Summer vacation, at least in Texas, was more about the kids being necessary for farming, and schools not air conditioned. Not sure the second was a thought, but none of the schools I went to were aid conditioned a large fan and all windows open. It still got warm/hot in April May!

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

Summer vacation, at least in Texas, was more about the kids being necessary for farming, and schools not air conditioned. Not sure the second was a thought, but none of the schools I went to were aid conditioned a large fan and all windows open. It still got warm/hot in April May!

Yup, it gets too hot even in Pennsylvania.

My local junior and senior high schools are not AC'd throughout. It gets bad in June and September when we get a heat spell.

Philly has lots of older brick school buildings without AC. Plus, lots of pavement in the city. It would be unsafe in July and August.

 

[Pellice]

Geez, does no one have memories of childhood summers spent playing? I would think it would be hard on a kid to be asked to give up being outdoors in summertime and replace it with November-February. Of course, I was the weird kid who preferred school and read books all summer, but still ... even though I engaged in no sports, no leagues, no clubs, really, I still have good memories of summers off!

But I was a boomer kid, and maybe kids aren't allowed outdoors much anymore.

 

[Aerides]

Geez, does no one have memories of childhood summers spent playing? I would think it would be hard on a kid to be asked to give up being outdoors in summertime and replace it with November-February. Of course, I was the weird kid who preferred school and read books all summer, but still ... even though I engaged in no sports, no leagues, no clubs, really, I still have good memories of summers off!

But I was a boomer kid, and maybe kids aren't allowed outdoors much anymore.

This, plus family vacations to somewhere nice in the summer - typically a slower time at work for the parents vs. the winter in a lot of industries.

 

[Rustic23]

It would be interesting to know what effect social distancing I.e. no school in those winter months would have on the flue death toll. Then you would have something to judge it by.

 

[ivinsfan]

I'm sure lots of parents up here in the Northland would love having their kids at home on the shortest colder days of the year......not going to happen here.

 

[ncbill]

Summer vacation, at least in Texas, was more about the kids being necessary for farming, and schools not air conditioned. Not sure the second was a thought, but none of the schools I went to were aid conditioned a large fan and all windows open. It still got warm/hot in April May!

My 1920s high school's air conditioning was originally large blocks of ice in the basement with fans to pull up cool air up through the classrooms.

That system died during WWII & was not a priority to repair.

By the time I got there in the 1980s there was no A/C & it was a struggle to stay awake after lunch in April/May in a 85º+ 3rd floor classroom.

No shorts allowed, either...several dudes wore sundresses one day to protest.