Summer

Some people see that title and get all giddy, some get all anxious, and some get all pissed. The latter would be the people that talk about how ridiculous it is teachers have 3 months off. (Editors note: 3 months is a vast exaggeration by non-teachers, it's actually two months and maybe 9 days) I'm not here to write about how much I think teachers should get those months off. The honest reason is because I don't think we should. We shouldn't get 2 months and 9 days in a row, it's detrimental to our kids and dare I say to our teachers. If you think I'm going to say that school should go year 'round with no break, then you're nucking futs. All you haters that are pulling your heads back and letting out a "aaarrrrggghhh". Try being a teacher for one week. Try it, then see what noise you're making. I'm not complaining about my job, I love it. It's the most genuine and important job there is besides being a pastor or the guy that is sitting in the pentagon watching for nuclear weapons headed for the U.S.

The days of needing three months off for kids is long gone. None of these kids are working in the fields anymore (the original reason for this time off). Kids are leaving our buildings and becoming dumber, peeling back a large amount of the progress we just made. Combine a bag of frito's, a monster energy drink, and 14 hours of video games or facebook maddness and you have a more lethal drug than crack straight to the dome. So what is the solution? We have the majority of the workforce pissed because teachers are off, we have kids losing knowledge, and we have teachers that are getting bored. (I get kinda bored, I certainly don't speak for all teachers).

Solutions:

Go year 'round. Follow me here before you start burning textbooks in my yard. We go three months on, one month off. Still get the two months and 9 days, along with your christmas etc.. Kids retain more knowledge, teachers stay fresh, and parents don't deal wiht their kids eating the frito monster cocktail.

Why this will never happen

1) All schools would have to install air conditioning. Isn't happening, too expensive.

2) Teachers would revolt. They would burn their bra's, laser pointers, and globes in protest.

3) Higher education institutions would have to change also to accommodate the weird start times, quarters and semesters wouldn't work anymore. Gordon Gee and his bow tie wouldn't have it.

4) It makes too much sense. Our education system from government down is so screwed up they wouldn't make a decision that would help kids. Look at No Child Left Behind. Bin Laden probably bombed us just because of that.

Solution #2

Take out the summer vacation. Go year around or add a bunch of days to limit it to one month.

Why this won't happen

1) You would have to pay teachers more. If you want me to work more hours, I will gladly do it. Honestly you want to tack on 30 more days, do it. Pay me another 30 days wage and I'm on board. Districts can't afford this. They can't even afford the petty salaries they pay teachers right now so they are cutting them left and right. I love it. When a fireman is being cut by the city they hold city wide protests to keep their protectors. When a teacher is cut, that same city says "ah, it was probably needed". Whats more likely to happen, your house gets burned down or your kid going to a school with class sizes that are too big for your son/daughter to get special attention because a teacher was cut? I would guess the latter.