Kids will be back in school next week. As teachers prepare for another year in the classroom, this week we are looking at education and the back to school season.
Why is there a Summer Break Anyway?
There is a myth that students get a break during the summer months because, years ago, they were needed to work on the farm. This is not true. Rather, summer vacation came about because schoolhouses were too hot during the summer months. As a result, kids stopped going to school. This was partly due to the rise of larger metropolitan areas in the 19th century and the so-called “urban heat island effect.” At some point, rule makers decided that kids’ brains probably needed a break anyway, and thus the summer break was created.
Lots of Students Heading Back
According to Statistics Canada, there were 5,068,587 students enrolled in public elementary and secondary school programs in Canada for the 2015/16 school year. Enrolment numbers have been trending upwards.
An additional 2,034,957 students were enrolled in Canadian postsecondary institutions, with 417,300 registered for apprenticeship training programs.
According to the provincial government’s enrollment list for 2018-19, there were 184,004 students in K-12 in Saskatchewan last year. Closer to home, there were 2,244 students enrolled in Holy Trinity and 6,867 enrolled with Prairie South School Division. More than 2,000 students in the province are homeschooled.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s 2017-18 Annual Report says there were 17,000 students enrolled in programs in 2017-18. That includes 3,192 students at the Moose Jaw campus.
The Wheels on the Bus
Lots of students take the bus to school every day. In Saskatchewan, school bus drivers transport more than 70,000 students to and from school every day. These buses travel around 250,000 km per day, resulting in more than 46 million km of travel every year.
That includes 2,592 students travelling 19,110 km daily within Prairie South and 651 students bussed by Holy Trinity, with 732 km logged every day.
Sliding During Summer?
Worried your kids might not be ready to get back to school? Research suggests that summer learning loss is a concern. In fact, students lose about one month’s worth of learning over the summer break. This is noticeable as early as Grade 1. Low-income families are greatly affected, widening the income-based achievement gap.
Math skills take the biggest hit because many children still read for pleasure throughout July and August — but they probably don’t practice math. Several weeks of instruction in the fall may then be devoted to re-learning previous material.
To combat this problem, some schools have created modified calendars. A number of students sign up for literacy programs, such as the TD Summer Reading Club via the Palliser Regional Library. Parents may also want to keep their kids busy over the summer months with educational day trips or the use of learning-based mobile apps.
The Cost of Going Back to School
Every parent knows that back to school shopping is a costly endeavour. Whether you are buying a whole new wardrobe or just picking up some new notebooks and pencils, it all adds up quickly.
A survey by RetailMeNot Inc last year found that 69 per cent of parents feel this is one of the most expensive shopping periods of the year. Forty-four per cent of respondents said back to school shopping is a financial burden.
That is hardly surprising; parents surveyed planned to spend more than $500 on back to school shopping this year. Students not only need basic supplies, but they also want access to the latest technology. Moreover, costs continue to increase each year.
Meanwhile, the average cost of tuition for an undergraduate degree in Canada is $6,838.
No wonder so many Canadians are in debt!
Enjoy the long weekend! Here’s to another great school year!
