Ending the "agrarian school year" myth

My hearty thanks to the Learning Lab from WBUR for taking on the "agrarian school year" myth in today's column. Most important point:

In the early 19th century, rural schools typically had two terms: winter and summer. Yes, summer.

That’s because spring and fall, not summer, were* the busiest months on a farm. So rural children helped with planting in the spring, attended school for two or three months in the summer, went back to work for the fall harvest, then did another two or three months of school in the winter.

If you'd like to talk about ending this model, maybe we can talk about how families aren't all summering at their cottages in Newport?
*still are.