Nine Months of School Days Is Enough Twelve Months Is Over Stress

¶ … Schooling is Enough -- Twelve Months is Overkill

Getting and obtaining a formal education are one of the most important achievements people perceive as a valid measure for success. Aside from the prestige that comes with being able to be educated formally, the economic prosperity and great knowledge that a person gets from studying is also another important factor that serves as many people's motivation in studying. Also, education is already an established institution in our society, and that is why we, as eternal learners of everything here in this world that we live in, strive and always look for information that is important to us. Our quest for knowledge is one of the main reasons why education became a primary institution in societies of the world.

The education institution may serve functionally in the society, but this important institution also has its own problems. One of the most talked- about issues about the American education is the lack of school days that will effectively instill the education and knowledge being taught to students in the American society. This important issue became talked- about because of its tremendous effect in the quality of the American education. Through the years, American students have been lagging behind other countries, and most of the studies conducted concerning this issue is that most of the nations that have been leading in the quality of education given to their people have longer school days compared to the American's 180 days (approximate only). For the American government and society, this piece of information obtained through research is important, since without providing the people with quality education, then U.S. will fail to lead globally among nations in the world in the future. Also, knowledge and literacy plays a big part in making the economic, social, and political situation of the country to be stable.

The problem of overcoming and possibly eliminating the gradual descent to mediocrity of the American education is resolved through various programs by the government. These government programs are (1) four-day school week, (2) trimester schedules, (3) year- round school, and (4) extended/delaying learning time (Chaika 1999). These programs have various responses to the problem of mediocre education in the United States. The four-day school week aims to reduce the financial costs of education, while maintaining quality education to the students. Because of a one- day deduction in school days, the cost of transportation and other expenses in going to school will be eliminated. However, although there have been statements by school officials that this program does benefit and maintains the quality of education, there is still doubt over its effectiveness in affecting the learning that students receive from schools adapting this program. The other programs target various segments of the society who are still undergoing learning under a formal education system. Among these programs, perhaps one of the most important and controversial programs proposed and implemented by the government is the year- round school. The year- round school program is the counterpart of the traditional educational system in the U.S., and is similar to the traditional schedule of the traditional educational system. The year-round schooling program has similar number of school days with that of the traditional school term, but it is different from the traditional system because it has "shorter breaks throughout the year" (Chaika 1999). Year- round schooling proved to be a controversial issue because of the positive and negative effects that it poses to teachers, students, and school administrators. This paper will present both (positive and negative) effects of the said educational program that aims to prevent the decreasing quality of the American educational system.

Many people and sectors in the society attribute the problem of mediocre education in the U.S. because of lack of school days in the educational system, making the students spend lesser time in school, and unable to retain the things that they have learned once they have finished their school for the day. This problem was resolved through the year- round schooling program, wherein the school days are lengthened through smaller or shorter breaks from school. Contrary to the wrong perception that the year- round schooling program makes the students stay in school for a whole year, the said program is just like the original, or traditional school program, only, there are shorter vacations, so that some of the days will be accommodated for studying (Chaika 1999). One advantage of the year- round program is that schools adapting this program have both single- and multi- track- scheduling, meaning; students have the option to continue studying (through remedial programs) or take their vacation away from school. Thus, through the year- round program, students do not really have to stay at school involuntarily. In fact, the students are given an option to choose whether to continue their studying (remedial or enrichment classes) while on vacation, or spend the said break with their family and away from the school.

Another important advantage of the year- round program is that it enables slow learners and handicapped students to continue their studying continuously, since vacation and short breaks causes disruption in the learning process of the students. In fact, this important point applies to all students, since retention is essential in learning, and retention of everything that is learned in school is only reinforced if learning and education is continuous and undisrupted. In effect, the year- round program provides the students with the ability to retain the information they learn from school, and avoid the possibility of it being forgotten during vacation from school. Retention is not only important among students, but with teachers and instructors too. Instructors in school also are disrupted from their teaching activities when vacation. These breaks causes disruption to the things learned between the instructor and the student in the classroom, that is why through the year- round program, learning is improved because of the increase in information and learning retention of the students, which in turn improves the quality of education that the students receive from the schools.