The pros and cons (advantages & disadvantages) of year round school, given in this article, will let you know whether the system is favorable for the education of your child or not.

Pros And Cons Of Year Round School

The system of year-round school for educational institutions has been there for quite a long time. Many schools have been working under this 10-month schedule system for years. One of the main features of year-round education is the system of track scheduling, wherein children go to school for nine weeks at a stretch and then take a break for three weeks. In this system, long summer vacations, seen in the traditional program, are replaced by short breaks. Parents may want to consider the pros and cons of year round school, if they are planning to enroll their children in an educational institution. Keeping this in mind, we have listed the advantages and disadvantages of year round education, in the following lines.
 
The Pros & Cons Of Year Round School
 
Pros 
  • Instead of long vacations, short breaks are entertained in year round schools. Such breaks help the children a great deal in receiving enrichment education.
  • Children are benefited academically due to the short breaks, as there they don’t have to re-learn the old material after a long summer vacation.
  • According to many educationists, schools that are not being used in the summer are considered to lack efficiency.
  • In this system, students are engaged in a number of interesting and recreational after-school activities. This kills their boredom, since such activities would keep them busy.
  • The system of track scheduling enables the enrollment of more number of students at the same school.
  • Year-round education provides families the opportunity to take small trips throughout the year, instead of a long trip only once a year.
  • Decrease in child-care expenses is one of the major advantages of year round education. Most of the parents are benefited by this system. The need to have a private baby sitter is cut down, as the child spends maximum time in the school. 
Cons 
  • Maintenance of school premises is a matter of botheration, as the children are in school all year long
  • The utility bills will increase, since electricity, air conditioning and heating need maintenance when the school is in operation.
  • There are chances of increase in the budget as well, because the management needs to spend more on the purchase and preparation of food for breakfast and lunch in the school.
  • Since there is no ground for long summer breaks in this system, the useful summer programs, such as youth camps, are at risk. Moreover, the possibility of students getting employed for part-time jobs during the vacations is virtually impossible.
  • Since year-round education involves track scheduling system, teachers would have to perform four beginning-of-the-year reviews, instead of one.
  • Parents with two children – one following the traditional school year system and the other studying according to the year-round education system - will find it a bit difficult to co-ordinate their vacations.
  • This system may prove highly intimidating for teachers, who would have to pack up everything in their class at the end of nine weeks and set it up all over again, three weeks later.

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