Should schools do away with long summer breaks?

[PaintingMedium]

I always complained when on a bus or in the city during the summer about how I wish kids were still in school. Primary school students get two months off whilst secondary school students get three months off. I finally have an extra bit of evidence backing my wishes up which says long school breaks should end because they do damage to a childs education!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/educ ... 418899.stm

The suggestion from this article if you do not wish to read it says that it would be better if there was five eight week terms with a month off in the summer and two weeks between the rest of terms.

I am not sure if Britain has a longer school year then Ireland at the moment anyway so I do not know how comparable this is. I think Ireland has four terms, with a break at Hallowe'en, Christmas, Easter and then the summer.

[Helium Three]

No. Long Summer holidays are special times.

[PaintingMedium]

No. Long Summer holidays are special times.

Teacher!

[CookieMonster]

Good god no, don't do away with them. Long summer holidays are the best thing about being young.

[Helium Three]

No. Long Summer holidays are special times.

Teacher!

I wish! Don't have the patience...

[Pidge]

Good god no, don't do away with them. Long summer holidays are the best thing about being young.

Exactly! There's a lot of education to be done outside of school.

[PaintingMedium]

Can I ask if we have any older posters then me (24), have summer breaks always been so long in Ireland? Has it always been 2 months for primary and three months for secondary and 12 months for third level?

[rockofcashel]

I remember being told once, that the reason the secondary summer break was so long (3 months), was because the kids were needed in the farms for harvesting during the summer

There is a certain logic to shortening the break, or moving the time around. Schools should close from the middle of December to the middle of January when kids are going to and coming from school in the dark for safety reasons.. and also to saving on heating and lighting bills in the school

[CookieMonster]

I remember being told once, that the reason the secondary summer break was so long (3 months), was because the kids were needed in the farms for harvesting during the summer

There is a certain logic to shortening the break, or moving the time around. Schools should close from the middle of December to the middle of January when kids are going to and coming from school in the dark for safety reasons.. and also to saving on heating and lighting bills in the school

Yes but you can't play around outside in the middle of winter. And stealing your first kiss while hanging out with your friends would be no fun because Jenny would be wearing a jacket, jumper and possibly a scarf which would significantly reduce the possibility of what you though might have been a boob actually being a boob and there would be no bragging rights whatsoever!

[riker1969]

I am a teacher-do away with them and Im gone. Lots of kids do nothing in school-we babysit them until a FAS aprenticeship scheme will take them off our hands. The parents dont care that they do nothing and care less that they have raised aggressive foul mouthed philistines. I do my best for the middle ground of kids who at least want to pass but unfortunately thats all they want to do- pass. The Summer break prevents us from killing each other.