It is my understanding that the driving force behind retaining this school 
calendar today is labor unions, not "society" in general.  It's the union 
membership that doesn' t want to go to 12 month school.

John Lee


At 04:53 PM 1/22/07 -0500, James B. Byrne wrote:

>We need only consider the demonstrated benefits of year-round instruction
>with breaks of only two or three weeks between sessions; the defect of
>instructing people for more than three or four hours each day or for more
>than 50 minutes at a stretch; the inefficiency of instructing children
>before 10:00 a.m or much past 2:30 p.m.; the need for many children to
>receive novel information simultaneously on many sensory channels; the
>requirement for humans to feel an strong emotional attachment to the
>information that they receive in order for it to be permanently
>incorporated into memory.
>
>What do we provide for them instead? A school year that runs from
>September to June with eight or nine weeks between grades. School days
>that too frequently begin with an overlong bus ride commencing at 7:00 or
>even 6:00 a.m. and end on the same note at 4:00 or 5:00 p.m.  Lecture
>periods of up to 90 minutes in duration.  Lunch breaks that begin at 9:45
>and end at 11:00 a.m. in consequence. Over-crowed buildings that are
>cinder-block cubes, absent natural lighting and atmosphere,
>institutionally drab as only committees of well-meaning, concerned people
>can accomplish.  Facilities devoid of stimulation accompanied by paved
>(and therefore easily maintained) playgrounds provided with safe (and
>totally void of intellectual interest) recreational material.  All this
>would deaden the spirit of the most active person and children, despite
>the despicable way we treat them, are still people.
>
>Yes, well intentioned and capable teachers exist and work wonders given
>the environment that they must endure.  But, recall that these jewels of
>human persistence stand out only because of the pervasive drabness of
>public education that lies behind their all too infrequent brilliance.
>
>--
>James B. Byrne                mailto:[log in to unmask]
>Harte & Lyne Limited          http://www.harte-lyne.ca
>9 Brockley Drive              vox: +1 905 561 1241
>Hamilton, Ontario             fax: +1 905 561 0757
>Canada  L8E 3C3
>
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