Our shrinking summer vacations

People of a certain age enjoy telling our younger friends how things were so much better when we were kids. Of course, they always have a snappy comeback or two. "Oh yeah, life was good before seat belts, right? Y'all must have really enjoyed breathing all that polluted air. I'll bet it was fun watching 3 black and white TV channels." Okay, we didn't get everything right, and there were many things we hadn't figured out. But at least we had enough sense to wait until after Labor Day to go back to school. Did I strike a nerve? Many teachers love the currently popular school calendar, in which most districts begin classes in early August, take a week off in October, plus three days in November, two weeks during the holidays, and another week in March before dismissing around the 20th of May. From a mathematical standpoint, this calendar has one good feature. The first semester ends just before the Christmas break, and the second semester starts at the beginning of the new year. Under the old "Labor Day to Memorial Day" calendar, when we returned from the holidays, there were still two weeks remaining in the first semester. Believe me, we had not given one second of thought to academics over the holidays. So we spent the first two weeks of the new year studying for end-of-semester exams. It was awkward to say the least. That was a key reason that some educators decided to start school in the first week of August. You've met August, right? That's the month that has just tortured us with 100-degree days, accompanied by a heat index of 110 or so, which is nature's way of telling us, "Don't go outside!" In my childhood, the term "heat index" had not yet been coined. But we were able to step out on the porch and realize that August 5th should not be a school day. Rambunctious 9-year-olds needed to take a break from our studies and get our ya-ya's out, under the sun. The gym, or more accurately, the "cafe-gym-atorium" was often not air-conditioned, and frankly, some of them are still inadequately cooled in space-age 2026. So, what's being done about it? There are pockets of resistance. In Murray County, Georgia, the school year starts the day after Labor Day. During the 2009 recession, the district made the move, primarily for financial reasons. At the time, school officials said that for transportation and utilities alone, the school district would save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Some Murray County teachers and parents say the longer summer vacation (about 12 weeks, compared to 9 weeks for most districts) results in fewer school-year interruptions, providing a better environment for teaching and learning. It's a hot topic in Texas, too. State Rep. Jared Patterson is getting involved, introducing the Save our Summer act, according to WFAA-TV. He told a reporter, "This is one of the dumbest things we do, starting school in the hottest month of the year." He added, "We must protect the health and welfare of our students, our athletes, and band members from the sweltering heat." Despite concerns from educators that a longer summer break would result in lower-income students suffering from learning loss and food insecurity, Rep. Patterson is unmoved. "We raised multiple generations of Texans going to school from Labor Day to Memorial Day, and we should do that again," he said, referring to it as "common sense." The Texas lawmaker faces an uphill battle. Nationally, 84 percent of students are back in class by the end of August, while only 16 percent get to extend their summer into early September. School calendars are not "one size fits all." No matter which dates are chosen, someone will complain. But the Heat Wave of '26 cannot be ignored. School board members should review the additional costs of cooling massive school facilities in scorching heat, check the condition of school buses, and review the instances of kids missing out on outdoor play because of extreme heat. Like all educational issues, the school calendar is voted on by adults. I just wonder how many of them ask, "What's best for the students?" David Carroll is a Chattanooga news anchor, and his latest book is "I Won't Be Your Escape Goat," available from his website, ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. You may contact him at 900 Whitehall Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37405, or at RadioTV2020@yahoo.com.