Extending the School Year from 180 days to 210 days

First, let me start off by saying that I am against extending the school year in any way shape or form. Argument 1. Burnt out students and teachers: Extending the school year will completely burn out students as well as teachers. Imagine having to sit through classes an extra month? Teachers have families and lives to attend to. With the school year extended their home life is cut short. They may need to hire babysitters for kids, cancel summer courses they are going to school for, etc. Teachers look forward to summer just as much as kids too. It's a break from work. Eventually teachers are going to become so tired and burnt out that their teaching abilities will be rendered. The students, on the other hand, will DREAD school more than ever. With there being an extra month or so of school kids will become so horribly bored that they won't even learn or pay attention. Kids need time to grow up and be kids and take a break from school. They deserve to spend time with their families and have fun! Having fun is part of growing up. If we extend school days then our kids will never be able to actually be a kid. According to Stuart Brown's study in Scientific American, "a lack of opportunities for unstructured, imaginative play can keep children from growing into happy, well-adjusted adults. 'Free play,' as scientists call it, is critical for becoming socially adept, coping with stress and building cognitive skills such as problem solving. Research into animal behavior confirms "plays" benefits and establishes its evolutionary importance: ultimately, play may provide animals (including humans) with skills that will help them survive and reproduce. " [5] 2. Limited family vacations and extra curricular activities: With students and teachers having to be at schools longer during the summer there will be less time to enjoy with their families and friends. Summer breaks are very important parts of growing up. Camps, parties, summer jobs, sports, and summer activities help students develop and improve lifelong people skills. 3. The cost would be immense: One of the biggest problems in the financial situation that would occur if we extended school days. Educating students already costs a fortune. Extending the school year would cause more problems than solve any. The longer school year would require paying teachers and staff for the extra time, in addition to the cost of maintaining school buildings and school grounds. Altogether, spending on all elementary and secondary education topped more than $500 billion in 2003-04 [6]. This is a HUGE amount of money for education. Imagine how much this would increase if we extended the school year! In conclusion, extending the school year is a horrible idea. Not only will students become very bored of learning but teachers will be burnt out on teaching! Therefore, it would reduce education. Also, the cost is much more than we can afford at the moment. Basically, the extended school year would have negative effects on our students, teachers, education, and our budgets and spendings. PLUS, tax payers would have to pay more for educational services. Thank you. Sources [1] . http://www.saratogafalcon.org... [2] . http://blog.cleveland.com... [3] . http://mdeducator81.wordpress.com... [4] . http://www.relnei.org... [5] . http://www.scientificamerican.com... [6] . http://www.humanevents.com...