The original purpose of summer vacations was to let farm children have time off to help 

work in the fields in the high growing season, but this reason is no longer valid since fewer 

kids actually work on farms today. Some cities in the United States, such as Los Angeles, 

have moved to a year-round school calendar, which may help reduce the academic decline 

that occurs during the long summer vacation. Most cities maintain the normal nine and a 

half-month calendars. To improve skills and to maintain a good level of preparation, 

superintendents recommend trips to museums, summer camps, vacations with educational 

components, and visits to libraries to keep kids mentally alert and interested throughout 

the summer.
 

There are other educational systems that provide vacations while still keeping students’ 

skills sharp. For example, in Japan students attend class for seven weeks consecutively, 

followed by two weeks of vacation. This continues throughout the year. In Italy, students 

attend class six days per week, but finish at 1:30 PM each day, so that school does not
dominate their life the way that it does in America, where students attend high school from 7:45 AM until 3:00 PM each week day. In areas where there are not enough classrooms—in Afghanistan or Somalia,
for example—older students attend classes in the morning while 

the younger kids go to school in the afternoon.