It’s commonly believed
that school kids started taking summers off in the 19th century so they’d have
time to work on the farm. Nice as that story is, it isn’t true. Summer vacation
has little to do with tilling fields and more to do with sweaty, rich city kids
playing hooky and their sweaty, rich parents.
Before the Civil War, farm
kids never had summers off. They went to school during the hottest and coldest
months and stayed home during the spring and fall, when crops needed to be
planted and harvested. Meanwhile, city kids hit the books all year long—summers
included. In 1842, Detroit’s academic year lasted 260 days!
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