Too much time off from school: how problematic can it be?
Almost any student can agree that they look forward to spending time away from school to relax, have fun, and just more or less push education to a portion of the mind where they can forget it.
School causes stress, this much is obvious, and time off is essential to a healthy lifestyle, but this banks on one question: How much time off is too much?
For the two month period during the summer, there is almost no thought put into education and perhaps this lengthy period of time dissolves learning capabilities. There are other options though, like summer school, where the last nine months of learning isn’t lost, and they can refresh certain skills.
Carihi Student Gena Bannerman says that she is uncertain about whether or not spending so much time off from school is really such a great idea.
“I feel that having two months off for summer is needed for students just to relax from the pressures and stress of school and that since summer is in between two different grades, it’s not like students are getting cut off in the middle of a subject,” Bannerman said.
Bannerman believes that it may be better to have more ‘brief’ time periods of relaxation rather than having just one or two big ones.
“It would be a more beneficial learning outcome for students,” she said.
Time off in the summer has been around for many years, because back when most families were farmers, they needed their children at home during the summer months to help harvest crops. The tradition stuck and that’s why we continue to follow it even today. Although summer is pleasant, perhaps it is time for schools to break from tradition and try something a bit more unconventional.