In multiple countries, primary and secondary schools close for summer holidays lasting two months or more. While long-lasting holidays can be beneficial for students as they provide enough time to spend with family and friends or to engage in various types of activities, shorter holidays ensure students’ academic progress.
On the one hand, long school holidays provide essential benefits both for students and teachers. After a long and demanding academic year filled with a huge amount of homework, exams and pressure from parents, students need a break as it helps them to reduce stress, recharge mentally and regain the motivation to continue their studies in the next year. Moreover, these breaks provide opportunities to spend time with family and friends. As many families use this period to travel, it helps students to share their feelings and strengthen emotional connections between family members, while also exposing students to new cultures, environments and experiences.
Furthermore, teachers also benefit from long holidays since they give teachers time to take a rest and recover mentally. Because working with children every day, about 7-9 hours, is extremely challenging and demanding.
On the other hand, shorter holidays sustain consistent academic progress for pupils. According to research, students lose about 30% of previously acquired knowledge during long breaks. Shorter holidays help to prevent such cognitive degradation and ensure consistent learning.
In conclusion, while long school holidays are vital for strengthening social bonds and emotional connections between family and friends, short holidays ensure more consistent learning and academic progression. Schools should find a balanced adaptive approach, for example short breaks throughout the academic year, to ensure students thrive personally and academically.