Summer versus School

The Possibilities of the Year-Round School

Non-Fiction - Education
154 Pages
Reviewed on 06/23/2015
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Roy T. James for Readers' Favorite

Summer versus School: The Possibilities of the Year-Round School by James Pedersen re-examines the education pattern of America. James, with many years of experience in this field, feels an urgent need to ponder on the changes that are likely to happen, a major one being the ongoing debates on year-round schooling, especially in view of certain improvements. These include: introduction of common standards of instruction, evaluation of teachers and performance pay, as well as vast advances in technology. One major stumbling block to overcome was the incorrect assumption that year-round schooling could only be achieved by increasing the number of days in the school calendar. In this dissertation, by analyzing the effect of year-round education for each group of students separately - elementary, middle school and high school - he advocates year-round school, accommodating coursework, community service, and job experience wherever necessary.

Summer versus School: The Possibilities of the Year-Round School by James Pedersen identifies the reasons that caused a ten-month calendar as being mainly due to agrarian needs. However, as this rationale no longer seems applicable as before, and in light of global competition and America’s consistently poor international rankings, it would seem like a logical conclusion to extend the school year to increase instructional time, if the prime position America holds in learning is to continue. James presents his argument to support this school of thought forcefully, and it is well supported by data. But the move forward, as he warns, isn’t so easy, nor is it unanimously embraced by parents, community members, businesses, or politicians. A well presented study.