Should the schools in united states have less days for summer vacation

[vlsm23]

I'm not in school anymore - haha!  No really, I can see the pros and cons to it.  What some of you are forgetting are the families that rely on school so they can go to work, who have to pay money that dont have for summer daycare or not work during the summer.  There's also the truth that the US ranks low on educational scores.  However, making children go to school longer may burn them out and cause more fatigue, stress and dropouts.  So...I dont know where I stand officially.

[gesus]

Well all that means is the kids will be more reckless let em have theyre space and keep the regular summer vaction

[liljp617]

Well one thing I think we can all agree on is a nation of our stature having a population where 73% of people do not have at least a Bachelor's Degree is pretty disheartening and embarrassing.  Especially if we attempt to compete on the global level and remain at the forefront of technology, attainment of knowledge, etc.

[bschumacher]

Brilliant idea. Long summers worked when we were an agrarian country that didn't need to be well-educated. Now, they just don't make sense. Kids forget everything they've learned over three months and must spend the first month of school just reviewing the work from the previous year. That's why we're so far behind countries that keep up with the times. We'd better get with it or we'll regress to being a third-world country.

[footemama]

I'm not sure where I stand on this issue... On the one hand we ABSOLUTELY need to be able to compete on a global scale with Japan, China, Korea, the EU etc. On the other hand will extending the school year by days or by hours per day really accomplish this goal??? The attitude toward education in general is very disheartening and I think that is what is going to have to change before we will get any results doing anything!

It is up to the generation of people having children now to place importance on education and really taking the time to make sure that our children are getting the best education possible and are taking full advantage of the opportunities that are present right now . Will it be hard??? Yes. But in the long run it will be worth it!!!! For many years we have been at the top or near the top with a 180 day school year I don't necessarily believe that is the problem. Motivation, however, probably is.

A bright light for me has been talking to many teenagers from all walks of life and having them tell me that being there to encourage their (future) children is extremely important to them because they feel that it has been lacking in their own lives.

***Oh and as a single parent I don't believe that the fact that my husband chose to walk out on me has any bearing on how well I will encourage my son and be able to offer help on his schoolwork. It is entirely how you shape your priorities and I would eat Top Ramen before I took that time away from my son.