Wednesday, February 6, 2002
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Wednesday, February 6, 2002 |
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Balanced calendar would be a benefit to many As I began to read Wednesday's letter from Jean M. Zhuño to the Fayette County School Board members, I initially was amused because I couldn't imagine that anything so insane and void of reasoning could be anything but tongue-in-cheek. After finishing, though, it became apparent that her letter and opinions were in fact genuine, and that scared me. It would take a letter as long as hers to refute the ridiculous allegations Mrs. Zhuño proffered. Instead, let me say that before moving to Fayette County nearly eight years ago, my family and I lived in Utah for five years. Because of the high number of children per family in Utah, the majority of school districts there have adopted the year-round system to handle school overcrowding. School ran 12 weeks followed by three weeks off, with children being assigned to five different tracks. We loved it! I believe the "Balanced Calendar" in Fayette County would be great. Is the "scorching, breathless, Georgia heat" less intense at the child care center than at the elementary school? Wouldn't it be better for children to be in the air conditioned schools when the weather is at its worst? My children are adept at taking nature hikes year round. They feel no obligation to wait for summer. All our children will be in school 180 days. The amount of time the Zhuño children will spend being raised by their teachers and day care providers will work out the same, just in different times of the year. How many working parents battle with coworkers for the same few weeks of vacation during the summer? With vacation weeks scattered through the year, families can travel to the many vacation destinations within a day's drive of Atlanta without fighting the summer crowds. Many vacation spots are discounted in the off season, so money can be saved. There are countless destinations that are actually better to visit during September than during the hot summer months. A Balanced Calendar would allow this additional flexibility, and still permit summer trips during June and July. I'm sure that a hundred years ago there were many who argued that horses had served their families faithfully for decades and they saw no need to change over to the noisy and dangerous automobiles. Of course there may be a downside to change of the schedule, but the Balanced Calendar would be such an improvement to the current system that it would justify the change. Don't allow the provincial thinking of a few keep the rest of us from enjoying a better system. David Widtfeldt Peachtree City
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