Have you ever wondered why kids cause so much chaos during the holidays? Well, they have too much free time and not enough supervision. Back when we lived in a basic economy, summer vacations made sense because academic achievement mattered less. The lack of air conditioning or modern sanitation turned crowded schools into health hazards, and the children's mothers were at home every day. Times have changed now, so we no longer need summer vacations. Year-round schools would be successful because grade point averages would increase and graduation rates would increase and children would have a safe place to go. Are you thinking about your child's future? Well if we had year round schools our children would do better, they are basically competing with other countries like Europe, India and China for rewarding brain based jobs. Today, summer vacation can impact low-income children. Researchers have reported that students lose a lot of academic ground in the summer, compared to those who go to expensive summer camps to read. Urban and minority children faced a significant compounding “achievement gap.” Many programs such as KIPP academies have used an extended school year with a mandatory 3-4 week summer session to improve outcomes. Do you think kids can still handle summer vacation? Millions of children are doing productive things like camps or family trips, while others are loitering in shopping malls and low-quality websites, which could lead to academic disaster. In an earlier era, professional educators around the country believed that too much school would mentally and physically exhaust students and teachers. But in today's middle-class families, this can be very inconvenient. With mom and dad working, it's harder to give kids the attention they need. Wi...... middle of paper...... another wonderful time for many families and communities. Lawmakers need not seek one-size-fits-all solutions to “fix” the school calendar. Rather, it is time to recognize that 19th-century schooling practices might be much easier for interested families. It should be much easier for interested families to find schools that operate during or during the summer. Summer vacation can be a great thing. But in the 21st century, for many children and families, it can also be an anachronism. Works Cited Hess, Frederick M. “Summer Vacation No Longer Necessary.” Year-Round Schools Ed.2008: Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. April 30, 2014. http://ic.galegroup.com. Silva, Elena. “Revising the current school calendar has many implications. » Schools open all year 2008. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. April 30, 2014. http://ic.galegroup.com .