Advantages and Disadvantages of each Month of the School Year

Happy Friday everyone! If you’re going to school as of now, the weekends begin tonight. I’m sure you’re getting tired of school, especially that Winter Break is over.

So what is the best day of the week? Is it Friday, or Saturday. To give you a rundown, here’s how many feel about each day of the week:

• Sunday – although it is a day off from school, it’s not the best day of the week because Sunday night is a school night. And you know what that means.
• Monday – the worst day of the week because you’re going back to school, for seven hours a day. And it won’t be for a while before the weekends begin. Some weeks may not have school on Monday, which is good. But if there’s no school on Monday, then Monday would be akin to what Sundays usually are.
• Tuesday – Tuesday is as bad as Monday. You’re still in the middle of the school week.
• Wednesday – another day of school. Can you go through it well?
• Thursday – Thursday is one of the better days of the week. While you still have to go to school the next day, there’s only one more day after.
• Friday – Friday is the last day of the school week. Even though you have to go to school, Friday night isn’t a school night.
• Saturday – the best day of the week. You have no school that day, and you don’t have school the next day. Great time, isn’t it.

Even if you’re okay with the school lunches and have no bullies bothering you, school is cruel. You have to sit in for seven hours a day, taking notes, doing classwork, and switching class to class every hour. And let’s not forget about homework, or the days you have a test (the academic equivalent of a video game boss). That may sound like a cynical viewpoint towards school, but given that I’m a video gamer who likes to play games, you can see why I’m not really much into school. But let’s not talk about bullying. I don’t want to make school look too scary or depressing. This is more about how much work you have and how hard the work is.

Now let’s take a look at the entire school year, not just the school week. In this field, August can be seen as Monday, while May can be seen as Friday. That’s what today’s entry is about. It’s about the advantages and disadvantages of every month in the school year. Although the school year varies by district, here’s when I went to school and when I finished. Every year I went to school, from Kindergarten to the 12^th Grade, the first month was August, while the last month was May. June and July were the two months of summer vacation (which went into August by about two weeks). Using my own experiences (albeit basing it on my 8^th grade year), here are the advantages and disadvantages of each month.

August:

The school year begins mid-August. By then, summer vacation is over, so it is time to go back to school. As the year begins, so does the first grading period, which usually lasts nine weeks.

• Starting with the disadvantages, August is not only when you’ll have to go back to school after a long summer vacation, but you’ll also be in for another ten months. This is especially bad when you’re in middle school, with 7^th graders being hit the hardest. But if you were in the 1^st grade or 12^th grade, this disadvantage doesn’t really matter, for that 1^st graders are still new to school, while 12^th graders are starting their final year in school.
• Going into the advantages, you start out with the easy stuff. To a fun class, this may be a disadvantage since the real fun doesn’t start until later, but school does go easier on you in the month of August. You mostly go over the syllabus for each class, and when you start the first lesson, it’s not that hard. Finally, since this is the beginning of the first semester, every class gives you a sense of freshness, as everything will be new to you.

For me, August has never been the worst month by the standards of a school year. Sure it’s stressful to adjust to the school year after a nice long vacation, but everything just seems new, for both August and September. Now in my personal opinion, August is the worst month in general, but as part the school year, not really.

September:

September may be the second month of the school year, but it’s also the first full month. By then, every student should be adjusted to school. As it’s still early in the year, everything still feels new.

• Let’s get the disadvantages out of the way. The main disadvantage of September as a month of the school year is that it’s still early in the school year, meaning that it won’t be for a long time before school is out. It’s not even close to the two-week vacation called Winter Break.
• About the advantages, September is when you’ll probably start going onto your first field trips, which although is a learning experience, it’s a nice break from school, as you get to go to other places rather than stay and take notes. You may also have your first early dismissals or late starts, giving you a shorter day. And there’s Labor Day, which is one day you’ll have off. Finally, when you do have to take a test, the test would be over the easiest of the course material, so you should start out well.

Now September is one of, if not, my favorite months for school. With material being easier and/or more interesting, fall starting up, and everything still feeling new, I can hardly think of another month that’s better than September. I would also like to say that although I like October more in general, September has frequently been a better month than October when it came to personal events, whether or not we take school into consideration.

October:

As the third month of the school year, the first grading period comes to an end, while the second grading period begins. This is one of the two mid-semester months, where you will be in the middle of the school semester. For semester-long classes, you’re half-way in, but for year-long classes, you’re still ways away.

• One of the disadvantages of October as a school month is that this is when school begins to get harder. Regardless of what grade you’re in, the easy stuff is over. It gets harder. Any tests you take might be harder, especially if you’re in an honors or pre-AP class. You may go over different course material that might be easier or harder, but October is hard.
• As for the advantages, there’s more advantages than disadvantages. Homecoming? Check. Red Ribbon Week? Check. Field Trips? Check. Early dismissals? Check. Anything else? Of course! Here in America, Halloween is a big deal, and schools tend to take Halloween seriously. Some classrooms decorate for Halloween. There can be Halloween parties. Some classes even have Halloween-related activities.

Although October was better than September for me when I was in the first three grades and the last three grades in primary education (for your information, I became a celebrity for making Halloween crafts when I was in the 11^th grade), I don’t like October as much as a school month. It’s not the worst of the fall semester months at least.

November:

As the school year continues, it’s approaching the middle of the school year. The next month is November, which is in the heart of the second grading period. It’s not a time to go cold turkey with school (you probably wouldn’t want cold turkey for Thanksgiving either).

• Although it’s not the hardest month of the school year, November is the hardest of the first semester. You’ve been in school for quite a while, and you’re going to be overwhelmed by more and harder material. You also may be taking your hardest tests at this time of the first semester.
• November isn’t without its advantages either as a school month. I may not remember too many school events or early dismissals, but you may still have field trips and sometimes Thanksgiving-themed activities. Most importantly, you have Thanksgiving Break. Sometimes, you may not even have school that week at all. If you do, you only have to go to school on Monday and Tuesday. Fun!

Going from my personal experience, November has never been the best month for me in school (except for my 5^th Grade year). Nearly every November, I get in trouble in school at some point. If I can recall, every year, from the 6^th grade to the 12^th grade, November has always been the worst month of the first semester in school for me. There are times were November hasn’t been a bad month at all when it comes to school, except that these were during my college years.

December:

Although there’s much more of the school year after this, the first semester is about to come to an end. After that, there’s a two-week vacation called Winter Break, when Christmas Day is celebrated.

• As jolly as the month is, let’s start with the disadvantages. Despite being a bit easier or more of a breather than November, this is when final exams come. You will have to take your final exams, which test you over the course material from the entire semester. As for elementary schools, I can’t think of a disadvantage.
• Now for the advantages. First, when you are done with school for the month, you have a two-week vacation called Winter Break, Christmas Break, Christmas Vacation, or whatever. During that period, you will have no school. And during the days you do have school, Christmas is taken seriously, as schools are decorated for Christmas, there are Christmas activities and Christmas parties. And sometimes, you may have a field trip in December.

In contrast to November, December has rarely, if ever, been my worst month in school for the first semester. After all of the pressure from school in November, it gets easier on me in December. It also helped that a vacation was getting close.

January:

After a two-week vacation, school is back in session. And the second semester begins. So you may have some changes in classes, but the all-year classes are still going on. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year at this point.

• This time, let’s start with the advantages. The changes in classes in middle school and high school may give you a fresh new experience for some. If it’s an all-year class, you won’t get the experience, but you’ll still be on second semester material. But for semester-long classes, you will finally be done with the first semester classes, as you’ll get to start the second semester classes. It’s also worth mentioning that Martin Luther King Day happens in January, which will give you another three-day weekend.
• Now let’s cover the disadvantages. Unfortunately, the freshness you feel starting new classes does not give you the same feeling of freshness as you did in August. Usually, the more fun classes are the semester-long classes, so the material may get harder in some classes. Also, despite Martin Luther King Day, there are no festive holidays to observe or hype for in January.

For my personal experience, January has never been too bad of a month during the school year. Some may argue that it’s not a good month because it’s cold and snowy, but I like cold weather more than hot weather. The best elective courses I took in school happened in the 8^th grade, 10^th grade, and 12^th grade, and they were all in the second semester. I was excited when I was going to start them.

February:

The school year continues through February, which has always been the shortest month of the year. After the initial freshness of the new classes, February acts as a regular month like October and November.

• There are two advantages worth discussing. One is the days off. Some schools have at least one Friday off, but nearly all schools have President’s Day off. The other is Valentine’s Day. Although it’s not as significant in middle school or high school (but still observed in these schools), it’s celebrated in elementary schools. Just don’t defy Heart Man, please.
• The disadvantage is that the material continues to get harder. And you’re still months away from the next Summer Vacation. Although you’re not too far from one vacation, you’re still far from Summer Vacation. As for Valentine’s Day, if it has no meaning to you, neither does this month.

Although February has never been the worst month for me in school, a general consensus would agree that February is the worst month for school. Because of the cold winter, the lack of holidays, and the fact you’ve been in school for a while, February is boring. But since it is the month of my birthday, I do have some bias towards February. The only times February has been the worst month of the year within my entire life was in 2021 and 2022, long after I graduated high school. Now did I ever go to school on my birthday? Oddly enough, that was one day of the year I wanted to go to school, but very rarely, did I have school on my birthday before my college years. Since I started middle school, the only years I went to school on my birthday were the 7^th grade year and 9^th grade year. The other years, either it was within the weekends, or it was on a day that school conferences occurred. As for the 8^th grade year, we had a snow day on that day, wherever I lived at the time.

March:

March is the other mid-semester month, and when the fourth grading period begins. Despite being early in the year, it’s rather late in the school year. So what are the advantages and disadvantages in this pot of gold?

• Let’s start with the advantages. While Easter doesn’t always land in March, and St. Patrick’s Day is hardly celebrated, March is usually when Spring Break occurs. After being in school for a while during the second semester, you get to have time off for one week. You may also have some field trips and early dismissals, like always.
• Now for the disadvantages. At this time of the year, you would’ve been in school long enough, so you would be more tired of school. Also, there is no end in sight. Even though Spring Break may give you time off, the amount of time you get off is only one week, which passes fast. This may also be the time where you have to prepare for standardized testing.

Despite Spring Break, I never really liked March that much until later within my lifetime. It slowly sprang up to becoming one of my favorite months as I gotten older, but when I was a kid, that wasn’t the case. Mainly because I didn’t like warmer weather.

April:

After eight months of school, the school year is already coming to an end. While not too close to the end of the year, you’ll begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, when Summer Vacation starts.

• The advantage is quite obvious. While it’s not the last month of the school year, it’s the second last month of the school year. And when it’s within the last two months of the school year, the year is coming to an end, which is exciting. Another advantage is that, more often than not, Easter lands in April. Usually, schools have Good Friday off, and sometimes Easter Monday. Although Easter isn’t as big of a deal in school as Halloween and Christmas, some may have Easter-themed activities.
• And now for the disadvantages, and this is the biggest one. April is the time of the year standardized testing takes place. Preparation for it each day must be taken more seriously, and it’s going to be a big one. Reading ones have a lot more reading, while math ones have more math problems. Regular course material isn’t any better either, as April is the hardest of the second semester months for that.

Out of all of the months in the school year, I would say that April is the worst, and standardized testing is the main reason why. I may be skilled in math, but reading is my biggest weakness, even in stuff like the ACT and SAT. And standardized testing hits hard on the reading part. Worse yet, if you didn’t do well in these tests, you may have to take an additional math class or reading class that absorbs one of your electives. You may sign up for the elective courses, but if you didn’t do well, you’ll be forced to take these classes instead of your electives. April is also one of my least favorite months in general.

May:

As the last of the spring months, May is also the last month of the school year. Once the last day of school is over, the school year ends. But you still have school to go to, and you shouldn’t blow it here either.

• The biggest advantage of May is even more obvious than what April has. It’s the last month of the school year. Summer Vacation is getting closer, and if you’ve been doing well academically, you’ll get to advance to the next grade. But an even bigger advantage awaits if you are in the 12^th grade. You’ll graduate from high school, and then, you’re done. No more school! The last day of school also goes easy on all of the other students, as they’re ready for Summer Vacation.
• Unfortunately, May has its disadvantages too. As the end of the second semester, you will have final exams, again. But these tests are over the material from the second semester. If you thought the second semester had harder material, the second final is worse. This disadvantage may be remedied if you earned and can use final exam exemptions. As for those who like school or liked their friends, you’ll be separated once Summer Vacation starts, and you may not meet them in class the next year.

Even if May marks the end of the school year, it’s not my favorite month of the school year either. Earlier in the month is just as tough since I’ve been in school long enough, and that there are a few more weeks of school. But once the last day of school passes, the year passes, and I’ll be out of school, for summer vacation.

When the school year ends, there is a cycle of progression. The months of the year always repeats, but the years are linear, and thus can’t go backwards.

• 12^th graders get to graduate, and thus they’re done with school.
• 11^th graders get to move onto the 12^th grade, meaning that they finally got to the end of the road.
• 10^th graders get to move onto the 11^th grade, moving them to the upper classes.
• 9^th graders get to move onto the 10^th grade. Feels nice that you’re no longer the bottom dogs.
• 8^th graders get to move onto the 9^th grade, meaning that they finally made it to high school.
• 7^th graders get to move onto the 8^th grade, making them the top dogs as they’ll start their last year before high school.

I’ll go ahead and stop there. But as you see, every year, a new class starts school, while the top class finishes. As time goes on, the top class will eventually get older and deal with more responsibilities of adulthood. But kids still have to go to school each year.