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School day/year/years duration

Summer break has its foundation in our rural heritage when kids had the summer off to help out on the farm. I worked with a guy who grew up in former tobacco country and they had time off in the early autumn to help with the harvest. I don't remember if he said whether they had a shorter summer break or did some other compensating time to make it up. Today, normalizing school in the height (or depth) of summer might entail some costly infrastructure for improved summer HVAC. As well, although not applicable to younger children, many resorts and other summer-vacation industries rely on a student summer labour force, not to mention the investment many families have made in summer cottages. Some may say that those rich folks (they all are not) can suck it up, but summer vacation is a multi-million dollar industry in Ontario.
 
lenaitch said:
Summer break has its foundation in our rural heritage when kids had the summer off to help out on the farm. I worked with a guy who grew up in former tobacco country and they had time off in the early autumn to help with the harvest. I don't remember if he said whether they had a shorter summer break or did some other compensating time to make it up. Today, normalizing school in the height (or depth) of summer might entail some costly infrastructure for improved summer HVAC. As well, although not applicable to younger children, many resorts and other summer-vacation industries rely on a student summer labour force, not to mention the investment many families have made in summer cottages. Some may say that those rich folks (they all are not) can suck it up, but summer vacation is a multi-million dollar industry in Ontario.
Click to expand...

Based on my understanding of the history of the summer break........your former colleague had the break based on agriculture, where most of us do not.

In reading a discussion of this issue by Malcolm Gladwell, it is suggested that the summer break in fact had little or nothing to do w/agriculture.

Rather, it came out of current thinking at the time of the advent of public education (mid-late 19thC) that it was possible to over-work the mind, that too much study or concentration was bad for you.

A break based on agriculture would have been afforded in spring (plow and plant season) and late summer/early fall (harvest season).

There is no justification for a July break based on agricultural need.

***

In terms of changing school buildings to offer A/C this is something we already need to do.

It is already very possible for June and even September to be oppressively hot.

New schools have been built w/air conditioning in Ontario since about 1970.

That means somewhere in the range of 25% of schools are fully air conditioned.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4429319/schools-air-conditioning-poll/

Note that parents agree and want a/c across the board even if the school year remains unchanged.

Much like accessibility, this is something that must happen, even thought it will be expensive and take time.

****

As for the resort/cottage sector, note that my proposal actually only shaves one week off student time off over the course of a year.

I am, however, suggesting 2-3 weeks come out in summer, in favour of a 1-2 week break in the fall, and maybe an extra week for spring break.

However, if you really want to boost cottages and resorts, the answer has almost nothing to do w/student time off; it has to do with parent time off.

Very few people send their kids to Deerhurst alone, or the cottage alone.

They go as a family.

That limits them to parental time off, which in Ontario is quite low vs world norms.

Stepping paid vacation up to 3 weeks minimum (or even 4, like Australia, New Zealand and the EU) would do far more to help this industry than an overly long summer break for students.
 
Northern Light said:
Based on my understanding of the history of the summer break........your former colleague had the break based on agriculture, where most of us do not.

In reading a discussion of this issue by Malcolm Gladwell, it is suggested that the summer break in fact had little or nothing to do w/agriculture.

Rather, it came out of current thinking at the time of the advent of public education (mid-late 19thC) that it was possible to over-work the mind, that too much study or concentration was bad for you.

A break based on agriculture would have been afforded in spring (plow and plant season) and late summer/early fall (harvest season).

There is no justification for a July break based on agricultural need.

***

In terms of changing school buildings to offer A/C this is something we already need to do.

It is already very possible for June and even September to be oppressively hot.

New schools have been built w/air conditioning in Ontario since about 1970.

That means somewhere in the range of 25% of schools are fully air conditioned.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4429319/schools-air-conditioning-poll/

Note that parents agree and want a/c across the board even if the school year remains unchanged.

Much like accessibility, this is something that must happen, even thought it will be expensive and take time

****

As for the resort/cottage sector, note that my proposal actually only shaves one week off student time off over the course of a year.

I am, however, suggesting 2-3 weeks come out in summer, in favour of a 1-2 week break in the fall, and maybe an extra week for spring break.

However, if you really want to boost cottages and resorts, the answer has almost nothing to do w/student time off; it has to do with parent time off.

Very few people send their kids to Deerhurst alone, or the cottage alone.

They go as a family.

That limits them to parental time off, which in Ontario is quite low vs world norms.

Stepping paid vacation up to 3 weeks minimum (or even 4, like Australia, New Zealand and the EU) would do far more to help this industry than an overly long summer break for students.
Click to expand...


A/C would mean we could start schools in late August ( from August 29-31st ).
 
Except for the CNE. When the Toronto Industrial Exhibition (former name of Canadian National Exhibiton) opened on September 3, 1879, it lasted for three weeks. They moved the dates into August, ending on Labour Day in September.
 
W. K. Lis said:
Except for the CNE. When the Toronto Industrial Exhibition (former name of Canadian National Exhibiton) opened on September 3, 1879, it lasted for three weeks. They moved the dates into August, ending on Labour Day in September.
Click to expand...

That is why I said late August, not mid August as another user mentioned.
 
I certainly can't argue with educational professionals or even those who have considered the issues deeply; my thoughts were only based on personal experience. True that students were not available for Spring planting, but hay, more of a managed than planted crop, comes off in late June/early July. When I worked on my uncle's farm after the end of school, I was always involved in bringing in the hay and it could take a couple of weeks depending on acreage and weather. More recently we pressed our daughter and friends with harvesting hay, all after school was out. The rest of July was consumed with the seemingly endless maintenance chores involved in family farming that largely can't be done in the winter. Around late July/early August, wheat started to come off plus the second cut of hay. Of course, all of this timing is subject to weather and area of the province and, nowdays, is much more mechanized.

Families that send their kids off to summer camp turn them over to camps staffed usually by people from late high school or university, as are just about every resort, restaurant and destination in 'cottage country'.

An extra week off for Spring break would only benefit families who head south. Otherwise, skiing is largely done and it's not 'vacation weather'. What would families do? Of course, recreational matters is not the concern of educators, but there are related impacts. It's a bit of chicken-and-egg thing.

Just personal recollections and observations.
 
lenaitch said:
I certainly can't argue with educational professionals or even those who have considered the issues deeply; my thoughts were only based on personal experience. True that students were not available for Spring planting, but hay, more of a managed than planted crop, comes off in late June/early July. When I worked on my uncle's farm after the end of school, I was always involved in bringing in the hay and it could take a couple of weeks depending on acreage and weather. More recently we pressed our daughter and friends with harvesting hay, all after school was out. The rest of July was consumed with the seemingly endless maintenance chores involved in family farming that largely can't be done in the winter. Around late July/early August, wheat started to come off plus the second cut of hay. Of course, all of this timing is subject to weather and area of the province and, nowdays, is much more mechanized.

Families that send their kids off to summer camp turn them over to camps staffed usually by people from late high school or university, as are just about every resort, restaurant and destination in 'cottage country'.

An extra week off for Spring break would only benefit families who head south. Otherwise, skiing is largely done and it's not 'vacation weather'. What would families do? Of course, recreational matters is not the concern of educators, but there are related impacts. It's a bit of chicken-and-egg thing.

Just personal recollections and observations.
Click to expand...

It is true that Summer vacation was created for the farm industry. I'll send a link to video :

 
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So, I just find out there is a PA Day next Friday. That is ridiculous. We just had a two weeks off, even as a student, I think this is ridiculous.
 
lenaitch said:
Summer break has its foundation in our rural heritage when kids had the summer off to help out on the farm. I worked with a guy who grew up in former tobacco country and they had time off in the early autumn to help with the harvest. I don't remember if he said whether they had a shorter summer break or did some other compensating time to make it up. Today, normalizing school in the height (or depth) of summer might entail some costly infrastructure for improved summer HVAC. As well, although not applicable to younger children, many resorts and other summer-vacation industries rely on a student summer labour force, not to mention the investment many families have made in summer cottages. Some may say that those rich folks (they all are not) can suck it up, but summer vacation is a multi-million dollar industry in Ontario.
Click to expand...

Speaking as someone who went through school in Australia, and our hottest month is February, the first month after the 5-6 week summer break (a week-ish before Christmas to Australia Day-ish (26th Jan)), we didn't have air con at primary or high school - and this was 1987-1999 - re: major infrastructure changes if summer school was normalised, suck it up, princes and princesses!

:)

Hrm, also the image from the first post is a little misleading... there were no 'cafeterias' at my school, just a simple canteen and it's not that we were forced to 'enjoy food outdoors', there was no large sit-down type spaces at school (and still isn't).

Also - in general the school year as you can sort of see in the month-map is Christmas/Summer break. Semester 1, Term 1 in Feb: 10 weeks then 2 weeks off. Term 2: 10 weeks then 2 weeks off (winter break/end of semester 1). Semester 2, Term 3: 10 weeks then 2 weeks off, Term 4 (for all of primary school and years 7-9 at high school): 10 weeks then Christmas/Summer break. Years 10, 11 and 12 (the final year) have a shortened term 4.

Australia.png
 
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