It's Still July

Costco's aisles were filled with backpacks and lunch boxes this afternoon.  

Monday was New Teachers First Day.

School starts in one week - Wednesday, August 6th.

My desk is covered in planning for the year.  A planting calendar, the school year calendar, Back to School Love Feast..... my brain is not prepared for this.

It's July.  It's the middle of the summer.  I should be planning a trip to the ocean, not deciding which seeds to plant in Grandma's Garden.  

I don't understand why the school year is structured the way it is.  

Tucson Unified School District is floating the idea of year-round school, or 4 days/10 hour weeks.  (Parents have been asked to weigh in; this woman's analysis is worth reading).  The Cuters' school in Chicago was on trimesters; we loved it.  Having vacation time when everyone else was in school made ski slopes uncrowded and theme parks deserted.  We made good use of the time.

I'm not just complaining.  I have a solution.

Tucson kids can't really play outside in the summer; the sidewalks are scalding, the sun is relentless, and playground equipment is too hot to touch.  Our schools are air-conditioned.  Outdoor time is scheduled in 20 minute increments. 

The weeks between Thanksgiving and the start of the Winter Holidays are filled with learning squeezed in around partying.  Everyone is distracted.  

What if our school year began the first week of January and ended on Halloween?  

Families could travel to see distant relatives.  The weather is beautiful in the winter time; just ask the snowbirds.  The kids could be outside, families could be together, and, when the summer heat sets in there will be cool spaces for our students.

We're not an agricultural society any more.  Most kids aren't needed in the fields in the summer.  Maybe it's time for a change.