K-12 education is feeling the pressure to make learning effective and relevant in a complex contemporary world. Beyond traditional academic subjects, schools must care for students' medical, nutritional and social needs. Teaching spills over into mental health issues, family issues, social media and more. Classroom time is given to preparing for and taking assessment tests. The school year is packed to breaking--or breaking down.
Yet, school systems have resisted changing the archaic structure of the school year and summer vacation. It seems to me that a short required summer term—maybe 2 weeks—would not seriously impact summer vacation. In the summers after the 7-11 grade academic year, students could be given instruction in driving, personal finance, parenting, technical skills, sex education, life skills and more.
So many measures indicate that American K-12 education is not effectively serving the needs of American students. All that needs to be taught simply can’t be taught within the current structure of the typical school year.
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