Letters to the Editor: There’s a lot wrong with education. A long summer break isn’t one of them

To the editor: I’m against year-round school — kids need a break from school as much as adults need a yearly vacation break from their jobs. (“How we got interminable summer breaks from school — and what we can do about it,” Opinion, July 18)

Has op-ed article writer Jonathan Zimmerman forgotten the joy of leaving school and required studies behind for the freedom to do whatever you and your family wanted for three months?

Most of my childhood years were spent in Southern California. As soon as school let out for summer, my parents and I would leave town and drive to and through other parts of the state or the western U.S.

Seeing new scenery and visiting historical places, I learned a lot more about our region’s history and geography than I ever did in my school classes. And I had a lot more fun doing it.

Gail Noon, Rossville, Ga.

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To the editor: Zimmerman’s history may be right, but his unflattering description of summer school does not match with my experience growing up in Ladera Heights, part of the Inglewood Unified School District in the 1960s and 70s.

In elementary school and junior high, I took fun classes in arts and crafts and journalism, to name a few. In high school, I took an immersion course in world history over the summer to make room for more academic classes in the regular school year.

My summer experience was definitely not an extension of regular school; it was enrichment.

Jill Smith, Pacific Palisades

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To the editor: Do the math. There are 365 days in a year. Americans typically attend public school 180 days a year, among the fewest of our peer countries.

Counting weekends, summer and holiday breaks, our students are home 185 days. No surprise our students do not test as well as those in other countries.

Karen Marks, Los Angeles