Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, President of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. brought up an old idea of three trimesters to make the school calendar more realistic. His article appeared today on the “Other Views” page in the Miami Herald.  Realism does not have much to do with tradition, particularly with respect to education.  Three trimesters is as good an idea as the current two sessions with intersessions and summer school. The same realism could be applied to the public and private schools that are not open throughout the entire calendar, preferring to remain locked into the old rural – school off for the summer because of the agricultural growing season – format.

There is nothing wrong with trying an alternative system or one that is new and radically different from the familiar one most of us grew up with and accepted as the norm. There are, however, notable changes from the way things were done, say – even 50 or less years ago. For instance, still in the college format  when I started teaching in college, SIXTEEN weeks in a semester were the norm.  This has eroded to FOURTEEN weeks. In the effort to please young people whose recreation is as important as the degrees they seek, the calendar was adjusted to get them finished with exams BEFORE the Christmas/New Years break.  School generally began AFTER Labor Day but opening after the summer vacation has been brought forward before that holiday.

When you look at the calendar and the expense of schools remaining open, the striking image of closed buildings and empty classrooms for a good portion of the year does not make good economic sense. In the interest of continuing the suggestion implicit in Dr. Trachtenberg’s argument about extending the college year to three trimesters, let me once again bring up my plan for total utilization of school plants that does make terrific economic sense.

It is my contention that the schools should be open 24-7-365. The buildings are really not very functional, as they have traditionally been constructed as warehouses for educands.  Schools should be designed for public use as community centers that also have teaching and learning going on throughout the entire day. Adults seek education but they have to seek it in other places than schools have are reserved for education. This is frivolous and uneconomic. Something is lacking in the use of one teacher for one room for a five or six hour day.  Schools should have auditoria and gymnasiums, food preparation and dining facilities and multi-use rooms of different conformations so they can accommodate other needs besides the traditional classroom of 20 to 60 seats and 1 teacher’s desk. The neighborhood school that is close to children and their families can become true community centers whose principal function is teaching and learning for all members of the community.

Schools should be open with people flocking in and out for community programs rather than closing down on weekends, holidays and long vacations. The community pays for their services but they remain closed for all but a few traditional days of cold weather education. There is no reason for schools not to be open say, if there is a group of prospective students who want to learn a subject between 4 and 6 a.m. because they are early risers and a teacher who gets up early is available at that time for them to be assigned a room and facilities – for those rooms and facilities are open all day and all year round.

One of my favorite ideas is that school for children should be open 6 days a week and intensive study in a subject be offered for perhaps a three week period and where the teacher has a week off to prepare for the next session and the children have relief for a week from their studies.  However, their study goes on throughout the entire calendar year with the school busy functioning for the entire community because IT HAS BEEN DESIGNED THAT WAY and is flexible to accommodate all requests for its use. Locking children into a traditional K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 organization is rather new for there was a sensible 1-8 and 9-12 that lasted for a hundred years.  If trying new formulations of time was good at an earlier time, why not go the entire way and create a sensible use for PUBLIC buildings as schools, community centers and community recreational facilities?

One more observation along this line. Office buildings that are closed after “business hours” and shut down early on Saturday and all day Sunday are not being used efficiently.  These buildings, like schools and community centers have heating and cooling machinery that can operate throughout the day, every week and during closure on “holidays”.  This is grossly uneconomic and wasteful. 

People complain that their taxes and costs for products they need are too high.  One reason is the lack of common sense in the use of structures used for education; commerce and recreation are not in tune with the rhythms of life that continue long after these common centers are closed.

We need to rethink and retool our resources and use them wisely. Dr. Trachtenberg is on the right track but does not go far enough.