I'm at a private school, and the work load can be pretty intensive. By the end of the year kids and teachers pretty much despise each other, so eager are they to get out. Not to mention summer reading. I mean, two books a month (give or take) may not seem like much, but it's more than many kids read (and the books aren't exactly easy readers)

That said, I think the main issue is that the public schools have to create a one-size-fits-all education for kids from every possible situation. Even I can see that the system could benifit from some good, old-fashioned common sense... But that's easier said than done.

To those of you saying "kids are likely to stay inside and play video games instead of going out and playing in nature, therefore they should be spending that time in a classroom": Shame on you! Because you don't like how they spend their free time, you would take that free time away?

//sent my kids to private school - worth every freaking penny.

To those who suggest that kids don't need much vacation, I hope you do realize that kids need a break. It's not the grade school years that are the real issue, but the high school years that are lacking.

@ Sharon, Jake, Lisa L - In the Albuquerque Public Schools.

I am a school bus driver. "We" sit in the parking lot and watch the kids who get out early. We are not allowed to let them on before a certain time, because they are in the care of the school up until that time.

We do have snow days, which are made up on the last days of the year, by adding five to ten minutes to the end of the school day. But the teachers send them out sometimes as many as 20 minutes early on those last days of school. And sometimes during the school year, because they were "good" that day. It usually happens on Friday afternoons.

During the rest of the school year, we take them on field trips.
When kids leave their "field trip assignment" for the zoo, on the bus, you get an idea that they are not really there to learn. But to just look at the animals and enjoy ice cream.
They are not learning anything about environment or where the animal comes from.

We take them on field trips to the pizza parlor. Where you would think that maybe they are learning about commerce, money, or how does math and measurement relate to how does the pizza get made. No. They only learn that pizza is made with cheese.

Field trip to a stocked fishing pond? Learning about the lifecycle of fish? Maybe even how fish reproduce or why do fish scales glimmer? Nope.

They do get their "fun" field trip to the pool at the end of the year. But it appears that their other field trips are also fun.

You would be appalled to know that some of the third graders I used to transport could not tell you the time of day, unless it was a digital watch.
Some fifth graders could not tell you their own home address or where they live.
Some middle schoolers have no clue how to write a check.
Elementary kids have half day wednesdays.

I could go on for hours about all of the things wrong with the school system. And it is not just myself. There are drivers whose children go to these schools, who give their kids more schooling when they get home.

Maybe I am being finicky because I went to a department of defence school, which is almost like private school. And maybe the problem with the schools here is a money problem - or whatever. But,

I agree with Melissa.
"Our nation’s children could definitely benefit from some extra instructional time. It seems silly to have a couple of months being wasted instead of used for learning."

And saying that the kids need more class time for education is BS. What they need are involved parents and an environment of learning and caring in the home.

If it were my kids I would tell the school "Go to hell".

It's sad to see kids today either choosing to not spend the summers the way we did or not being allowed the freedom we were allowed or the world changing in ways that makes the way grew up not feasible or safe anymore. But the changes have made it so that summer isn't as valuable anymore. Kids would be better off in school nowdays.

oh yea cuz the schools are doing such a bang up job now...

Summer vacations are a very important part of a student's year and a deserved reward for most of them, it will stress everybody out to remain in school during summer.

Our nation's children could definitely benefit from some extra instructional time. It seems silly to have a couple of months being wasted instead of used for learning.

Plus, it would be more convenient for a lot of modern families. Many mothers used to be at home year round anyway,so it used to not make much of a difference if the children were at school or at home. Now most parents work outside of the home and many kids live in single parent homes, so having the kids out of school during the day for a couple months puts an extra stress and expense on those parents.

I don't understand why schools are stuck on doing things in such antiquated ways. Schools should be on the cutting edge. They should lead the way in modernization, rather still than follow traditions that were outdated decades ago.

As for the kids having to stay for another 34days.... wow.. sucks for the kids. I'm sure some parents are angry about it, but I imagine there are probably some who are thrilled... even if they don't want to admit it. Parents who are glad to have some peace from their kids during the day lol

34 days will mean 7 more weeks of school. That sucks.

Could you specify in which part of the country you've witnessed that?