Ian Brown Mr. Moran English I - Honors 12 March 2012 Year-Round Schooling Pro Rebuttal The issue of having year-round school in America or not has been going around for decades. This system is practiced throughout the world with the huge exception of many of our schools. Some claim that it doesn’t make a difference to a child’s scores, but spending more time in the classroom, with shorter but often breaks, can keep their mind refreshed. Even U.S. President Barack Obama stated that the hardships and new challenges in this emerging century “demand more time in the classroom.” Some opponents of this system say that our summer vacation is the perfect time to have a full time-off and that you won’t lose much of what you learned the previous school year. In fact, according to a study at the University of Missouri, they found that many students forgot over two and one-half months of whatever their grade-level equivalency is in mathematics.
First, through their taxes, poor families subsidize rich students who can easily afford to pay fees. A second point is that spending government money on free education is often not possible or desirable when a country needs hospitals, roads, and primary or secondary schools. Furthermore, when people get something free, they often do not value it. If college is free, many students will go there just because they cannot think of anything else to do. There are certain families who cannot afford to pay for the education of their children.
There isn’t a viable reason not to implement it, and the few cons are outweighed by the pros. By using year-round school, both students and teachers would have access to school that is both rewarding and relaxing. A recent study compared sixty-four school variables, such as attendance, grades, discipline, and test scores, among year-round schools and traditional schools. The results showed that fifty-four of the sixty-four tested variables were more prominent in year-round schools (Chaika). If schools just gave the year-round calendar a chance, they are almost guaranteed to love it.
<BR>Many parents struggle over the important decision to either send their children to Catholic school or public school. Clearly, they should choose public school over any non-profit educational organization concentrating on post-pubescent years in a childs life, especially Catholic installations. Catholic schools have less to offer children and parents on many levels, whereas public schools offer much more for much less. Furthermore, public schools have a much better reputation then Catholic institutions. <br>According to Jerry Bransby of Syracuse University, New York, Catholic schools cost more and produce less.
The number of children being educated at home is considerably increasing though there are no accurate prevalence estimates as mentioned by Petrie, Windrass & Thomas, 1999. The same research made in the US mentioned that a million children are receiving education at home. On the other side, the majority of people are still thinking which schools their kids should join, which one is providing high level of education with a healthy environment that would help in raising their children and no wonder that they are ready to pay a fortune so that their children would enjoy being at school. If you ask me which option would you prefer for your kids, I would recommend school education. Although home educations provide privileges to parents and children, some may appear as for granted benefits to those who are getting their education at schools.
Even though some kids don’t have the same circumstances as others, they should still be made to go to school until they are a legal adult because it will help them get a better job, make better money, and provide more opportunities for themselves than they might have if they dropped out at the young age of sixteen. Free public education is something that the United States has that many other countries in this world is not fortunate enough to have. To be able to send our children to school for free and have them receive a education to help not only better themselves, but also better out nation is one of the main reasons so many families immigrate here. From a young age, most children learn that in order to succeed, one needs to go to school and excel. This, unfortunately, is not always an option for kids.
Students whose parents can’t afford expensive clothing can be spared the harsh words and jeers from their peers, allowing them to blend in instead of being singled out as poverty stricken or less fortunate then others, thus giving all the students the outward appearance of equals. Household income doesn’t become a visible issue with school uniforms (Benefits par. 38). On average, a family could provide its child with uniforms for a school year for between one hundred and one hundred fifty dollars, saving a small fortune versus shopping for new school clothes in stores (Summers par.12). Families with multiple children could save even more.
One of the toughest decisions that any parent is going to face is where to send their kids to school. For some parents the choice is easy because the options are limited by funds and availability of a parent's time. Those kids just have to go to the local public school. However, most parents at least consider alternative options like private school and homeschooling. And even parents looking at public schools often have options such as charter schools and magnet schools.
The Future of Students Equals Change in Everyone The American people make excuses over and over about why our children are struggling in school, but the true question we need to ask is: why aren’t we doing enough to make a change? A few years ago the elementary school that my children attend had implemented a dual language program. After four years, my children were fluent in Spanish. This program was doing so well, that ninety eight percent of the children in the program tested out gifted. Unfortunately somewhere down the line, the school board members at the district, and state level didn’t think the program was worth keeping.
Funding for schools in this country is grossly disproportionate to educational needs. Funding plays a giant role in student success rates, and most school district funding comes from the districts them selves. A poor district doesn’t have the resources a rich one would. If a child grows up in a society with an inferior education, how is that child going to contribute to his society as an adult? Chances are he wont be able to and the cycle will just continue.