The Case For Summer Vacation

Economists have long criticized summer vacation as economically inefficient. But one has come to its defense. [NPR] Happy Sunday, Actually, we hope this Sunday is especially happy. It’s the last Sunday of August and very soon, the idea of summer vacation will fade away. With that in mind, we’re bringing you a timely excerpt from Planet Money's weekly newsletter, in which Greg Rosalsky writes about summer vacation — and why economists are so hard on such a golden and glorious season. If you like this week’s newsletter, click the button below to subscribe the Planet Money newsletter. [Subscribe To Planet Money]( The Case For Summer Vacation Eric Cabanis /AFP/Getty Images Economists have long hated summer vacation. All those wasted school facilities! All that educational backsliding! Kids are getting dumber! The conventional wisdom is that summer vacation is a relic of agricultural times, when kids had to help their parents on the farm. But the economist William Fischel says that story is completely wrong. "When the U.S. was a farming country, in the 1800s, kids went to school during the summer and winter," he says. Rural kids had to take fall off for the harvest and spring off for planting. In other words, summer vacation would have "actually worked against the rhythms of agriculture." Fischel, a Dartmouth economist who retired this year, has done a lot of research on summer vacation. He is also the author of Making The Grade: The Economic Evolution of American School Districts. Far from being a legacy of the agricultural economy, Fischel argues that the system of summer vacation was created by urban school districts around the turn of the 20th century, beginning with the invention of the modern K-12 education system. Before this, schools were basically just a single room that held kids of all ages. They did not require students to attend full time or on a continuous basis. "This method worked fine for a rural population that demanded no more or less than basic literacy and numeracy," Fischel says. "But as America became urban, industrial jobs rewarded the more advanced education that high schools offered." Around 1900, cities started developing a grade-based education system, dividing classes into age groups. A newly systematized academic curriculum required students' regular attendance to keep up with lessons. According to Fischel, this system required a standardized start and end date to the school year. In the industrial age, when workers moved around the country for jobs, this was pretty necessary. Otherwise, families who moved between school districts wouldn't be able to keep their kids on track with everyone else. Fischel finds the standardized school calendar arose organically as urban school districts heeded the economic needs of a mobile workforce. And summer was the natural time for a break. For one, it was easier and cheaper to move when the sun was shining. "Weather conditions caused fewer delays in the summer," he says. He acknowledges, of course, that the dog days of summer are also a great time to take a vacation. There's a pretty strong argument for ending summer vacation: It could make our education system more productive. School buildings mostly sit vacant in the summer, collecting dust and requiring maintenance. Their resources go underutilized. Plus, having kids at home can be a burden for working parents, who have to figure out day care. But Fischel believes there's still a strong economic case for summer. "It makes it easier to move from one part of the country to another," he says. "This makes our economy more productive, allowing workers to move to better job opportunities." He may be an economist, but Fischel's case for summer vacation isn't just about dollars and cents. "Year-round [schools] rob kids of that longer, self-directed time to discover things on their own and enjoy childhood." So if you're a kid, or have kids, enjoy yourself. The weather is nice. There's not that much time left. — Greg Rosalsky, Planet Money Now, let’s get into some news... The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a new student loan watchdog. The newly appointed head, Robert Cameron, is a former top official for one of the country’s largest student loan servicers. Some consumer advocates are worried because that servicer has been the target of considerable criticism, including for its handling of a troubled student loan forgiveness program and a grant program that hurt thousands of public school teachers. NPR obtained letters that senator and presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren sent, calling the decision “an outrageous slap in the face to student loan borrowers across the country.” She urged Cameron to reconsider his acceptance of the position. [Read Cory Turner’s reporting here](. President Trump signed a presidential memorandum this week forgiving all federal student loan debt for veterans who are totally and permanently disabled. This isn’t a new benefit for veterans -- in fact, non-veterans who are totally and permanently disabled also qualify to have their federal loans forgiven. Up until now, the program was entirely opt-in, which meant you had to know about it and apply to have your debt forgiven. Veterans Correspondent Quil Lawrence told Audie Cornish that the new changes make forgiveness automatic for veterans.”If you qualify for this because you're a total and permanently disabled veteran, you don't have to do the paperwork anymore.” [Listen to Quil Lawrence’s reporting here](. What does it mean to perform at grade level? States are raising the standard. As Lauren Camera of U.S. News & World Report reported this week, “Nearly every state in the U.S. has raised the bar over the last decade for what it considers grade-level achievement in math and reading.” This comes from a [new report]( from the National Center on Education Statistics. [Read more of Lauren Camera’s reporting here](. Are you looking for some Sunday reading? Maybe a podcast to dive into? Meredith Rizzo/NPR Teachers, if you’re looking for a way to talk to your students about recycling, here’s a resource: This week, NPR published a recycling guide called “[Plastics: What’s recyclable, what becomes trash -- and why]( (Hint: Plastic wrap is not, and neither is foam polystyrene.). [Read through the guide here](. Episode 3 of WHYY’s Schooled podcast is out. Education reporter Avi Wolfman-Arent tracked down dozens of former Philadelphia charter school students to ask: Did their charter school live up to its promise to change their lives? [Click here to listen](. And before you go, here’s something to make you laugh... Actually, not something but 100 things -- 100 books that will make you laugh, to be more specific. NPR Books put together that list, which include titles like Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah, and the classic Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. [Click here to read more](. See you next week. --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of this week's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [npred@npr.org](mailto:npred@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Code Switch and more! [Facebook]( [Twitter]( You received this message because you're subscribed to our Education emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]