Letter to the Editor: Regarding Summer Breaks for Local Schools

In Response to the column Is It Time to Give Summer Break a Permanent Vacation?, by Dennis Maley

Recessing school for the summer is an issue often before most educational institutions, public and private, Pre-K through 12 and even to college and post-graduate programs.  Providing Summer School in some form is often discussed by our local board and is often provided.  Both of my children attended some form of summer school organized by the district, and I think the district has had some form of limited summer school most summers for the past twenty years.
 
”Cost“ is the foremost  ”practical“ reason for not having Pre-K through 12 schooling similar to the rest of the year in every Manatee District School. Costs include the cost of staffing, busing, feeding, and administering. Other significant ”practical“  reasons include: 1) the need to address plant maintenance and improvements without students being present; and 2) widespread parent and student rejection of the idea, which might mean loss of political office for school board members who sought to impose round-the-year schooling.
 
While ”summer recess“ is described by some as ”antiquated“ and an ”agrarian practice“, similar pejorative descriptions might be applied to ”weekends“ (Why aren’t our children in school all day on Saturday and Sunday?  Isn’t that some impractical scheduling relic?)  While we are criticizing established practices because they are old, let’s not forget the Socratic teaching method.  While some firmly believe the Socratic method is still the best way to prompt learning, let’s admit that this method is early agrarian and maybe for that reason alone  should be relegated to the dustbin of fogey practices, along with ”weekends“ and ”summer recess“.
 
Having some summer school available for students is a good thing.  Forcing all students to go year round in traditional classes removes the opportunity for them to learn in other ways, in a sense cross-train their education.  For me, I support continuing the ”antiquated“ practice of allowing each family to decide just  how their children may best spend their summers.
 
Dave ”Watchdog“ Miner
Manatee County