Summer 15 Days or 2 12 Months Jordan

Summer: 15 Days or 2 1/2 Months? Jordan Bettlemen LA 4 11/14/07

Hook (She chose anecdote) Introduction Background information on topic It’s been a long school year, and I’ve learned a lot, but I just can’t wait. I’ve been counting the minutes until summer vacation. The final bell rings. It’s the last day of school, and summer has finally come! I don’t have to think about school for at least another 2 1/2 months! For some students this is not the case. Did you know that some school systems are considering a year-round calendar for students? I believe year-round schooling is not an appropriate schedule because it has a negative impact on a student both academically and socially. It makes little or no impact on education, it is expensive it disrupts a child’s summer vacation. These are her 3 arguments. They become the topic sentences for the first three paragraphs in the body. Summarized Thesis Statement

Fact with source included. If you use the authors name in the sentence, you do not need to cite it at the end. Body Paragraph #1 Supporting Evidence #1 Contrary to the well-accepted belief, year-round schooling has no constructive impact on education. Carlos Sadovi of the Darnell Little Chicago Tribune states that most year-round schedules use the 45 -15 method: 45 days of school followed by 15 days off. Because of this, there are many first and last days of school. All those transitions disrupt the learning process. Also, there is no evidence of higher test scores. Due to that, many schools that change to year-round schedules end up switching back. For example, since 1980, 95 percent of schools that tried the year-round schedule changed back to a traditional calendar (Aronowitz). It is obvious that changing to year-round schooling does not help students; therefore, why is the change necessary? Fact with parenthetical documentation at the end of the sentence before the period Elaboration (She chose “analysis”)

Body Paragraph #2 Supporting Evidence #2 Like any other facility, keeping a school open requires a great deal of money. When a school changes to a year-round schedule, the costs skyrocket. Keeping school open in the middle of summer requires air conditioning, and that adds significantly to the school’s expenses. The usual utility bills grow because of the additional open -school time. Finally, teachers must be paid for all the weeks they are working. With all these factors, the cost of keeping schools open becomes immensely high. For example, a high school in Arizona had a cost increase of $157, 000 when they switched to yearround schooling (Sandovi). Some schools may not be able to handle such increases, and other schools that can handle these expenses could be doing better things with the money. Is year-round school really where the money should go? Elaboration (She chose “steps in a process”) Fact with parenthetical documentation

Supporting Evidence #3 Body Paragraph #3 Elaboration (She chose “hypothetical”) Another important issue that year-round schooling doesn’t consider is that an important part of a child’s life is summertime. What if you were forced to attend a year-round school? With yearround schedules, you would hardly have any time to relax. During the 15 -day breaks, you would be thinking about your quick return to school. It would also be difficult to coordinate your family vacations with parents’ work schedules. In addition, you would not be able to go to most summer camps. One expert, Dr. Peter Scales, says, “The biggest plus of camp is that camps help young people discover and explore their talents, interests, and values. Most schools don’t satisfy all these needs. Kids who have these kinds of [camp] experiences end up being healthier and have fewer problems. ” Obviously, the summer is crucial to a child’s learning and development. Why should this invaluable part of a young person’s life be taken away? Fact with source included

Transition Sentence Body Paragraph #4 Opposing Stance with fact and source included Many proponents of year round school may claim reasons it is beneficial. One supporter, Dr. Benedict, principal of a year-round school in Kentucky, states, “Students have the opportunity to remediate each quarter prior to continuing to the next. They can keep from falling too far behind as the year progresses. ” Others may say that we still get our breaks. They are just shorter and more frequent. I can only reiterate what I’ve stated earlier. Studies have shown that these frequent breaks do not have a significant enough impact on education and the long summer is very important to a child’s development (Aronowitz). Transition sentence to rebuttal Rebuttal of both opposing stances with parenthetical documentation

Restate Thesis – DO NOT use exact same wording Conclusion It is evident that year-round schooling is not the best option for the school calendar. It has no benefits to a child’s education or the community Comment as a whole. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the traditional school year. Why change something that works so well? When the final bell rings, let’s make sure this bell means that. Question the “real” summer vacation has come. Call to action

Add this title Bibliography Aronowitz, Stanley. "National standards would not change our cultural capital. (National Standards: Pro and Con). " Clearing House. 69. 1996. 144(4). e. Library. Proquest CSA. COBB CO SCHOOL DISTRICT. 07 Nov 2007. <http: //elibrary. bigchalk. com>. Bruno V. Benedict. "Creating america's new public schools: Not Tomorrow but Today. " World & I. 01 Sep 1997. 316. e. Library. Proquest CSA. COBB CO SCHOOL DISTRICT. 07 Nov 2007. <http: //elibrary. bigchalk. com>. Sadovi, Carlos; Darnell Little Chicago Tribune. "Reviews coming in on year-round schools: State Report Card shows mixed results, but unconventional schedule wins converts. " Mc. Clatchy - Tribune Business News. 06 Nov 2007. e. Library. Proquest CSA. COBB CO SCHOOL DISTRICT. 07 Nov 2007. <http: //elibrary. bigchalk. com>. Alphabetical order and indent all lines AFTER the first line The bibliography is typed on a SEPARATE PAGE and stapled to the end of your essay.