We Need a New Calendar

As we peek past our spring breaks and peer towards the looming end of the school year, I can't imagine a teacher who doesn't say "How am I ever going to get through all this material?" Between holiday breaks, half days, professional development days, student illnesses, staff illnesses, assemblies, fire drills, lockdown drills- and any other interruption you can think of- the current school calendar is not conducive to student achievement.

Most teachers will tell you they spend a significant amount of time in September, and even into October, reviewing skills students should have mastered the previous school year. As any good teacher knows, you cannot move on in the curriculum unless prerequisite skills are mastered. This delays instruction tremendously and puts pressure on the timeline we have in front of us.

The issue regarding students' lack of retention of skills isn't necessarily the amount of days away from instruction, it's the fact that the days are consecutive. Having a ten week gap between school years creates ample opportunity for skills to vanish from a student's grasp. If we pace our instruction, and in turn pace our breaks, we will see stronger attendance, increased focus, and an influx of energy from both staff and students that will surely lead to more productive, deeper, and longer-lasting learning.

A new school calendar in which six to eight week cycles of instruction are followed by a one week recess would create more of a "marathon" perspective to education. Knowing each school year is a long road of carefully-guided steps implemented by teachers,  this approach allows students to absorb material in manageable units, rest, and come back prepared for a new cycle. Teachers could use the one week recess to reflect on assessments, organize new material, and gauge the next direction of instruction. All professional development for staff, staff meetings, and parent-teacher conferences could take place during the week off, thus ensuring less disruption to teacher-student contact time. 

Remembering to pace yourself is beneficial in all areas of life- especially when it comes to learning. We all know students who "cram" for a test are less likely to retain information so we should consider less "cramming" during the current school year and pace ourselves for longer-lasting learning.

Tutor's Tip: Pace yourself when running the education marathon.