I Choose Year Round School
If this contract is offered in Northern Virginia where I know the salary is manageable, I would like to teach in a year round school but only with a single-track calendar. The reason why my acceptance of a year round school schedule depends upon the location is because I would need to feel fairly secure in my earnings since this type of schedule would restrict me from obtaining a second job. I would like to see firsthand how this type of structure influences a child’s retention of information and how it affects my own ability to stay fully invested in my student’s achievement. Even though the research is not extensive, year round schools seems promising with the idea that it will allow better retention of information and even help teachers avoid burnout as said in the article from Hanover Research:
"Advocates of year-round calendars have suggested that such systems reduce teacher burnout and decrease the likelihood that students will become stressed, demonstrate ill-discipline, or drop out, and that these schedules may lead to better student retention, as well as improved achievement rates" (2013). At first, I questioned the idea that teachers would feel less of a burnout from a year round schedule. But with frequent breaks in between instructional weeks, I believe it allows teachers the opportunity to recharge, plan additional lessons, and come back to the classroom energized. Compared to the traditional school calendar where teachers are at the forefront of the classroom 10 months in a row with only two breaks (spring and winter break) to break up it up.
I also think a year round school schedule would lessen the likelihood of students forgetting key concepts they would usually over the normally 3 month summer break. In the article in Educational Leadership, “Research indicates that summer learning loss is a real problem for students – especially for economically disadvantaged students” (Huebner, 2010). While this is a huge factor concerning lower-income students, I believe even economically advantaged students struggle with retention with a traditional school calendar. This in turn causes the teacher in the beginning of the new school year to waste time going over previous concepts they learned before. This time should instead be used to jump right into new material. This restricts the teacher from focusing on the new curriculum at hand and in turn can cause teachers to become frustrated and students to lose immediate interest due to struggles remembering past material. These reasons are why I would choose a contract with a year round school because I want to see my students invested in their education and see it as a lifelong pursuit versus a mandatory 10 month stint.
Yes for Magnet Schools
I support school districts investing resources to support the expansion of magnet schools simply because it promotes a more intensive approach to a specific field of study. For many students entering middle and high school, passions are already being revealed so what better way to cultivate these passions with exposure to a magnet school. The possibility of a diverse school body in magnet schools is achievable with no entrance criteria and it’s stated in Magnet Schools of America, “Since student interest in a theme is the only eligibility criteria to attend a magnet school, students from a wide array of backgrounds attend magnet schools. As a result, they promote higher level cognitive and social learning” (2013). However, I think there is still a substantial amount to achieve in regards to diversifying the student body from considering applicants from various socioeconomic backgrounds, troubled backgrounds, and students with special educational needs. It would be unfair to think passions do not lie with students from all these various types of backgrounds. Lastly, I think magnet schools hold so much possibility of exciting students and investing more into a student’s individuality and creative thinking compared to a general education from public schools.
School Day Organization
I experienced block scheduling for my secondary education and I am not a huge proponent of this type of organization. Instead, I can see the potential benefits with modular scheduling. This would hopefully solve the issue with attention spans of students, therefore students would be more likely to actively pay attention to a 20-30 minute lecture. Incorporating free-time modules would definitely allow a student to meet with teachers or even strategically plan their “rest” periods where they can step away from academia for 20 minutes and come back fresh for the next module. On the Westside High School web page, this particular quote stood out to me, “At a time in our society when the age of majority is eighteen years of age, we must help students develop self-reliance” (n/a). The constant movement of the module schedule keeps students engaged and gives them a sense of control over their learning over the course of a day. This control going back to students is allowing them to depend upon themselves for getting the most out of their education rather than passively sit and have information lectured to them for multiple 50-90 minutes class periods a day. Also, with students from different grade levels sitting together for a specific content area module, this also enriches the learning environment with students of different knowledge skill sets and differing maturity levels. Of course, there’s always a risk for students not taking advantage of all modules given in a single school day, however, the advantages outweigh any negatives. With students who may struggle with a more independent study feel of a module schedule, they should have access to and be monitored by teachers and advisors throughout the day.
Resources
N/A. (2013, April 19). Cost and Benefits of the Year-Round Calendar System. Retrieved from http://www.hanoverresearch.com/2013/04/19/costs-and-benefits-of-the-year-round-calendar-system/?i=k-12-education
Huebner, T. A. (2010, April). What Research Says About... / Year-Round Schooling. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/apr10/vol67/num07/Year-Round_Schooling.aspx
N/A. (n.d.). What are Magnet Schools. Retrieved from http://www.magnet.edu/about/what-are-magnet-schools
N/A. (n.d.). Modular Schedule - Bell Schedule. Retrieved from http://whs.westside66.org/about-us/modular-schedule-bell-schedule/