School plan has drawbacks

There is a proposal to change our secondary school system to a trimester program. This means teachers would be teaching 12 months out of the year rather than the current nine months. It also means that junior high and high school students would attend school for two semesters, or eight months, then would have four months off.

On the plus side, teachers would be paid for 12 months of teaching, rather than just nine months.

On the negative side, teachers would have no vacation, other than at Christmas, and students would be in school for eight months rather than nine. We could increase the length of the school day, by one hour per day, to compensate for only attending for eight months. But is this wise? Most junior high school teachers will tell you that their last period is often chaotic.

The solution is not to go to a trimester. It would be better to increase the length of the school year by three weeks and pay teachers for the additional three weeks.

Daniel Tayler

Syracuse