Back to school early! Does that give them a better Education?

My children started back last week too. They got out June 1 at their old school. This school as got out at the same time. Their old school went back a week before this school. My girls seem to be learning more than we did at that age. My kindergardener can count to 1,000, say all abc's, can point and tell all of the upper and lower case ones. She also can tie her shoes. She knows every color in a 164 count box of crayons by its name. I also have two girls in third grade and one in fourth grade. My fourth grader can read 232 words in a minute with out mistakes. My third graders have brought home spelling words off a fifth grade level. So yeah I think children are getting a better education now days. I think the homework is to see if they are paying attention in class and learning it. I make my kids do their homework with out help. I will then check it and any that are wrong I will help them with. Doing it this way makes them think and learn. They have proven it works, because my oldest three are straight A students. Happy MyLotting!!

I really don't see much use in starting school before Labor Day - they just get started and then they have a long weekend. In a lot of areas, the schools don't have air conditioning and the weather is hot so they will let them out early because of the heat. I think if they would start the week after Labor Day and go until the week before Memorial Day - that would be plenty and the timing would be good. Many of the school years were planned to start earlier and get out earlier in farming communities so that the children would be available to help with planting in the spring - of course then, a lot of the older children were held out of school in the fall for harvest as well.

This is my sons second week of school. They are learning a bit, not sure how much. The school he is in now seems much more focused on education. At his last school he would come home a few times a week saying that they watched a movie. Worst part about that is the teach would complain that they only had time for teaching what was on the LEPA test and we had to pay extra for art, science, etc after school....

Well here my kids are expected to return to school two weeks earlier than they did when I was a student. However they are off from school 30 days out of the school year, that's 15 more days than we had off when I went to school. So to me it's ridiculous. It's like they want them to have more days in school, but the then they turn around and give teachers more days off or at least days without dealing with students, so what is the point? Then as you said, the first two weeks is about nothing but getting ready and the last two weeks, they have parties and are helping the teacher to pack up the classroom. That's another 4 weeks of nothing on top of the 30 days off. UGGGG! But of course I am a parent that is now homeschooling her children. My kids both went to public school for 6 years but I just couldn't stand it any more and now I am educating them myself. Public schools do not make any sense at all and seem so backwards now a days.

I think going back to school earlier doesn't give then any advantage or additional learning. Even during the regular year, I have my doubts about the quality of the education they receive. I don't need a babysitter for my children. If you are not educating them, don't try to pacify me with keeping them in classes longer. Last year, I thought my son was lying to me when I asked why he never brings books home. He told me, "I don't have any books". I went up to school to meet with his teachers because he was failing. I kept asking them about the books because I wanted to help him in his studies but I had no material to refer back to, just homework worksheets that didn't give background information on what they were doing. They kept telling me it is school policy not to give the children books. I contacted the principle to find out what was going on. He fessed up and told me that the school district didn't have enough school books to go around. He allowed me to take text books home in the subjects my son was having trouble in. By the end of the year he was carrying a B average. But can you imagine how many other students may have been having the same problems who's parents didn't investigate. Their parents probably thought their child was just goofing off. I do not live in a poor or troubled district. I think the US School systems need a major overhaul.

Same here, as soon as state testing is over they goof off. It's time for field trips, field day, other entertainment. But also, if they go back to school earlier here, they are out of school earlier, too. Last year, they went back to school August 8th, and the last day of school was first set to May 25th, but then snow days were added on, which pushed it to June. This year they went back today and as of now the last day of school is June 4th. However, the other school district in the area went back to school first day of August but has longer fall, winter, and spring breaks. I think overall it all works out, it's just distributed differently.

Dear friend, I hope they need a mental rest and moreover they too need to relax after that long mental strain. I hope school students do need some rest for the mind and body too. Let them also enjoy their life in either way along with studies or not along with studies.

MORE time spent at school does not equal a better education. Neither does homework. What they need to do is take a good hard look at what they are trying to teach in a year's time, take into account how many days they are required to have kids in school, and divide up those skillsets and qualifications to fit into those days. Only account for the time in school, do not 'add in' more time to force kids to do stuff at home. At home, kids need a break. They need time to play, time to see friends, time for other activities like sports or art and all the extra curricular type stuff they have totally cut out of the school day. If kids got to have recess and sports and art and music and everything that parents now have to find and pay for and shuttle kids to themselves outside school, then it wouldn't be at this point. Anyway, I don't think they get a better education by going back early unless it means they get out early too. My son started on the 11th but he also gets out at the end of May. The last week for sure I know is kind of a goof off week, and I also know that they spend a lot of time preparing and teaching towards the standard tests, and the reason they do that is to make sure the schools 'show' better as far as how well the students are learning the objectives. This is not really fair though because they stop all the other teaching of normal subjects in order to prepare for these tests, sometimes it's 2 weeks or longer between the prep, review, and the several days for testing. I think that too much is expected of kids except for high school. I find the high school curriculum and standards appropriate, but they also do not assign homework in high school unless you goof off and do not use your class time to do your work. In high school they also have PE every day and require at least 2 years of it, which is much better than what I've heard about elementary school, which is something like they have it twice a week if at ALL. I have a major problem with this, it is not fair to not let little kids run around and play and do things you'd learn in PE class daily.

No I don't think that they are getting a better education. I agree with you about letting them stay home rather than watching movies all day just to count as a day in school. I am a stay at home mom so I would agree. Some mothers are single parents or working to make ends meet. I suppose they would disagree since they would now have to spend more money that they are trying to earn to keep family afloat to care for the children while they are at work. So it seems a double edge sword.

well i recently graduated from high school a few years ago... and i remember that once the exams were over (sometimes the last moth of school) we'd just played or hanged out with our friends all day long basically we were free to do as we please as long as we remain in the classroom and no violence occurred(kids fighting) and the reason i think they start school a week earlier is so that all the students on holidays will come back and all the new students would be settled down i the new environment before the actual studying begins

i would say, children should go to school when they should. but sometime school are too easy on the children. so the best way to prepared for your children is to help them at home. when u help them at home they can learn easyer at school. when i teach my little sister at home for a little her grades went up alot and she was happy for what i have done for her