Below The Beltway


Barack Obama’s War On Summer Vacation

by @ 3:51 pm on September 27, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Education, Politics


Beware kids, while you’re signing his praises, the President is thinking about getting rid of your summer vacation:






While I think that it is a good idea to talk about modifying the 180-day, September-June school calendar that has become as much an American tradition as fireworks on the 4th of July, I don’t quite see the need for this to become a national issue, or for the Federal Government to mandate that schools modify their calendars based on a decision made by a bureaucrat in the Department of Education. As with most things in the education field, this is a matter best left to school boards at the local and state level and to the parents of the children being educated.

It’s also worth noting that the old argument that American children have a shorter school calendar than the rest of the developed world isn’t entirely accurate:



It’s not just a matter of the amount of time that kids are spending in the classroom, then, but what’s being done with that time. Obviously, students in those Asian countries are using their time much more productively than American students are, so adding an additional 10-20 days a year to the school calendar isn’t going to help if the time isn’t being used right. Maybe that’s what we need to concentrate on.


11 Responses to “Barack Obama’s War On Summer Vacation”

  1. sus says:

    I like the 6 weeks on / 2 weeks off schedule. Comes with problems like how to work around teachers vacations, energy to heat/cool the schools. But seems like it would be best for the kids.

    Schools would be open even on the 2 week off schedule for parents who work. Safe place. Those who need tutoring can get it.

    Some schools already do this. I wonder how they worked around this problems?

  2. Scandia says:

    Maybe, in the Asian countries you mention, teachers don’t have to devote the first quarter of the lesson to get the students to sit down and be quiet. I don’t know, but I do know that most Asian parents are tougher on their kids when it comes to studies, than are most American parents.
    Also, you hear stories about parents being upset with teachers who are “too demanding” of their little darlings.

  3. James Young says:

    In any case, this should cure the cult of personality that the Obamorons are promoting in the government schools.

  4. Hall Monitor says:


  5. Let's Be Free says:

    Homeschooling our kids we get done in 2 to 3 hours more than what the school system accomplishes all day. The rest of the day goes to enrichment and giving the kids free rein to explore their interests. The answer to better education lays not in more classroom time. Our kids are learning how to think and act for themselves and stand on their own two feet. Unfortunately, a lot of parents will look at what Obama is pushing and think more school equals less daycare expense — incredible visionaries that they are.

  6. John Burke says:

    Iran, Afghanistan, the recession and healthcare should be enough to keep Obama busy without intruding on state responsibilities.

    Besides, US school kids waste half the time they spend in school now. Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China have two thingd going for them we lack:

    1) A school culture that focuses on brighter and more hard-working students rathert than dragging everyone down and

    2) A nation of parents who whack their kids on the head if they screw around or get bad grades.

    Short of being able to change those things, Obama has nothing to add.

  7. Bob Grumbine says:

    It is the difference in focus inflicted by child molesting homosexist pedophiles and their “phys ed” and “sports” disruptions of schooling that cause the educational gaps vis a vis other parts of the world. When admins make criminal thuggery the primary objective of “education in the schools” it defeats any legitimate purpose regardless of hours per day or days per year spent in the grossly mismanaged “schools”.

  8. SV says:

    As someone who did his early schooling in Asia, the AP has it completely wrong. Yes the “official” number of hours may be shorter, but just about every student spends hours in study (extra classes, tution, etc) after school (every day and every weekend). Cram schools and private tutors are a huge industry in Asia and this is part of the reason for the pressure cooker environment of learning that is Asia.

    Adding more hours to schooling will only correct the imbalance somewhat.

  9. Jon says:

    response #’s 5 & 6 say it all…. It is time to remove the morons from the decision making processes

  10. Asorel says:

    More school won’t change anything. If you’re dumb, you’re dumb. If you should change anything at all, its the education itself.

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