Listen to That's History, 7/17/12

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Listen to That's History, 7/17/12

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Most academic years run from September through June, giving students a three-month vacation. Breaks in the school year were instituted in the 19th century, when children went home to help on the family farm for planting and harvesting. In this edition of That’s History, Jonathan Zimmerman examines the origins of the summer break, the negative impact it has on students, and how some schools are changing their schedule to minimize that effect.