Fdsa said:

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I would support this…original reason I believe was because school houses didn't have AC and it was too hot to have kids inside.

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good answer... good answer....

AgGrad99 said:

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Too hot to go outside?

Did we all not run around in shorts and a tank top...getting in creeks and making bike ramps to jump? Running around to each other's houses...making forts, playing tag, setting up some street hockey or getting a pickup game of football/soccer/baseball/basketball started?

Never did I think it was too hot to go outside, and if it was...we'd go swimming.

Summers as a kid, were the absolute freaking best.

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I look at my neighborhood and barely see any kids outside in July and August. But in October, November, and December, they're all outside playing and riding their bikes after school and on the weekends.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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AgGrad99 said:

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Too hot to go outside?

Did we all not run around in shorts and a tank top...getting in creeks and making bike ramps to jump? Running around to each other's houses...making forts, playing tag, setting up some street hockey or getting a pickup game of football/soccer/baseball/basketball started?

Never did I think it was too hot to go outside, and if it was...we'd go swimming.

Summers as a kid, were the absolute freaking best.

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I look at my neighborhood and barely see any kids outside in July and August. But in October, November, and December, they're all outside playing and riding their bikes after school and on the weekends.

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Nobody goes outside in Texas in July and August anymore unless forced to.

Deerdude said:

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Because taking family to the beach in December would suck

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There's always skiing.

P.H. Dexippus said:

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So they can work jobs. Oh wait, we eliminated entry level jobs and work ethic.

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Not eliminated… sold to foreigners

I wish that we'd move "Summer break" to April, May, and June. Summer in Texas is miserable and I'd rather go on a family vacation during that time. Just my worthless opinion.

School starts in July in Arizona. They take several breaks when it cools down. When I first moved here I wondered why the school zone lights were flashing the day after July 4.

MouthBQ98 said:

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Not for most families $$$$.

It is because kids worked on farms historically and summer was growing and harvesting season for many crops.

I don't think it would be terrible to have a shorter summer and longer winter break but summer tend to have the best weather for outdoor activities for most of the nation if your population isn't a bunch of fat soft weaklings like we have become.

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I was coming here to post this.

If you didn't have summer break, most teachers would quit.

AC efficiency has changed EVERYTHING. When I was a kid, my parents would SET the AC around 78. On really hot days (above 95), it would only cool to around 80, anyway. Ceiling fans helped, but while inside was most definitely cooler, the marginal difference on normal "hot" days wasn't that great. Especially if you had fairly easy access to a pool like most of us did. We had a community pool, but the city pool was just as close.

Now, I can set my AC at 69 and unless the temp is well over 100, it will get down to ... 69. Plus, while my energy bills are obviously higher during the hotter months, it isn't totally unaffordable for most people. So the desire to stay inside is far greater today than it was 20-40 years ago.

I don't think the schools will ever go to a summer plan until energy costs drop substantially or they build a small nuke power plant behind the school. Regardless of what kids do or don't do during the summer, the energy costs to keep those huge buildings open, not to mention gyms, etc., would absolutely bust their dwindling budgets. School districts, even the ones considered "rich," are closing schools left and right. So unless someone has a great idea of how to pay for the increased costs, the whole summer jobs/vacation/etc. arguments are really a waste of time.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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torrid said:

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They can go to summer camp, they can get a temporary job, families can go on an extended vacation, etc. Summers are important for kids.

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1. They can go to summer camp. If they entire state is on a 10-12 week fall/winter break, camps would move to the fall/winter.
2. They can get a temporary job. Temporary jobs are more abundant during the holidays.
3. Families can go on an extended vacation, etc. They can do this in the 10-12 week fall/winter break.
4. Summers are important for kids. Why summer?

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4. Summers are important for kids. Why summer?

Summers aren't what summers used to be. Now kids either a) sit on phones all day and sleep in late or b) go to camps for several weeks and then spend much of the summer training for their sport (conditioning and training).

Hardly any kids are using the summer the way we did in the 80's or 90's.

that's when they are needed to help out on the family farm.

Logos Stick said:

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Deerdude said:

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Because taking family to the beach in December would suck

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There's always skiing.

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Never skied the beach, so won't critique the idea.

Ha, I remember thinking this growning up. Maybe start by giving a two week fall break in Oct and two weeks for spring break.

Lots of things already mentioned. I'll add...and this is a minor concern, but it would have major consequences.

When would football season be if there were not school in the fall?

Let's don't forget youth sports and the outdoor entertainment industry (Six Flags, water parks etc).
I believe the State controls minimum school days for max $$, but the days provided are controlled by the local ISDs. So during the fall, one district might have the month of October as a vacation period making scheduling, practices etc difficult to coordinate with other district schedules.

91AggieLawyer said:

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I don't think the schools will ever go to a summer plan until energy costs drop substantially or they build a small nuke power plant behind the school. Regardless of what kids do or don't do during the summer, the energy costs to keep those huge buildings open, not to mention gyms, etc., would absolutely bust their dwindling budgets. School districts, even the ones considered "rich," are closing schools left and right. So unless someone has a great idea of how to pay for the increased costs, the whole summer jobs/vacation/etc. arguments are really a waste of time.

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So instead, we all run AC at each house to keep kids cool while they game or doom scroll.

I am a fan of more time off when the weather is nice. It would help poor kids even more - families who can't afford to travel.

Homeschooling allows you to do this, today!

A trimester model has been appealing to me. Take off May, September, and 2 weeks for Christmas.

Key concept: Texas weather is an inversion of New England weather (opposite seasons with consistent harsh weather vs enjoyable). We should operate in a manner which benefits us: not that which Yankees developed for their climate.

ItsA&InotA&M said:

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Let's don't forget youth sports and the outdoor entertainment industry (Six Flags, water parks etc).
I believe the State controls minimum school days for max $$, but the days provided are controlled by the local ISDs. So during the fall, one district might have the month of October as a vacation period making scheduling, practices etc difficult to coordinate with other district schedules.

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They're smart. I'm sure parents who care enough about sports will work it out. Also, six flags is dying a slow death anyways.

91AggieLawyer said:

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Now, I can set my AC at 69 and unless the temp is well over 100, it will get down to ... 69. Plus, while my energy bills are obviously higher during the hotter months, it isn't totally unaffordable for most people.

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My lord, that sounds absolutely freezing. That's essentially living in a house with a 55 degree cold front blowing 24 hours a day.

Logos Stick said:

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Deerdude said:

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Because taking family to the beach in December would suck

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There's always skiing.

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Exactly!

i'd rather have 8 weeks of summer vacation, 2 weeks fall, 3 weeks winter and 2 weeks spring rather than 1 fall and spring, 2 winter, and 10-12 summer.

zooguy96 said:

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If you didn't have summer break, most teachers would quit.

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Go on........

IIIHorn said:

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Logos Stick said:

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Deerdude said:

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Because taking family to the beach in December would suck

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There's always skiing.

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Exactly!

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With my size 17s, I'm always skiing.

I'm old. Grew up near Hobby Airport in Houston. Our house had no AC until I was in 4th grade. That was a window unit in my parents' bedroom. We had an attic fan. We'd crack the windows and turn that on to create a breeze. No AC in the family car.

I remember the cold more than I do the heat. We had radiators at school and it was never very warm.