25.2.12

School Holidays, a "For and Against Composition"


Many people think that students have too many vacations. It even seems that in Spain they are longer than in the rest of the world. But, should we have less holidays? Is it that the reason why our academic results are so bad in comparison to the rest of Europe?

On the one hand, we have 175 (secondary) to 180 (primary) school days, whereas in Finland, one of the countries that gets better academic results,or the United Kingdom, they only have ten more days. In France or the USA, the number is the same. However, there are countries where the number is much higher such as Germany (220) or Japan (240). 
On the other hand, I do think that, as a result of our climate and the underdeveloped infrastructures in our schools, we do not get a well-balanced calendar having too much time of recess in the summer because of high temperatures and very short periods of holidays during the course. Our  students are very tired  throughout the school year and tend to forget all they have learnt  in summer time.

Some people think that our educational system has to be changed, I agree with that. Nevertheless, I do not think it necessary to get more school days, I think it would be enough if we could just get a proportioned calendar.

What do you think? Leave your comments!!

6 comments:

  1. I think that you have reason, but I´m a teacher... Why have you chosen Simpson´s image?

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    1. My target are also my students, remember?
      Thanks for following me Ángel. I appreciate it very much.;)

      Delete
  2. In all the writing guides I´ve searched, a personal opinion can´t be stated unless you are in the last paragraph. That is a must in argumentative essays. Let me suggest taking out the 1st person opinions in 2nd and 3rd paragraphs (¨Therefore I don´t think that makes the difference¨, ¨I do think that...¨). I would also replace the word ¨recess¨ by ¨leisure time¨, considering that ¨recess¨ is ¨recreo¨ in the USA, which could cause confusion.

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    1. Thank you so much for your comment, I really appreciate it, I wish I knew your name. I think you are right about the "recess" part and the opinion in the second paragraph, so I'm going to change those. However, the opinion in the third paragraph is not on the main topic but on the reasoning, so I'm going to leave it.
      Thank you so much for your time and help!!

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  3. I am glad you took my comment as a constructive one, thanks truly. As for the ¨I do think...¨, I was referring to what comes just after ¨On the second hand¨, which as you say, belongs to the reasoning and mustn´t include a personal positioning. It´s only in the conclusion paragraph where one can introduce one´s personal point of view.
    Not that I think that all these rules have to be strictly followed. I always tell my students that a certain amount of freedom has to be left for those who really want to do something different, which I value highly when marking paperwork. We teachers know that many excellent pieces of writing DO NOT strictly stick to the rules in the textbooks, but we also know that we must provide them with reliable guides for a quick start in the writing task.
    My name is María and I really admire your webpage. Thanks for sharing all your hard work! I wish I could start one some day.

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    1. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. Writing a blog takes a long time and I haven't been having it lately. I'm sure that if you find the time, you'll also do a great work. Thank you again.

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