With winter break long past, the memory of failed New Year resolutions still resides in the minds of students. And some struggle to adjust back into the groove of homework assignments and seven hours of school.

Many forget what they had learned the previous semesters due to long periods of mental inactivity like winter break and summer vacation. Instead of getting fatter in the body, they become ?fat in the head.?

?I played on the computer and did not do any mental exercises during the whole break,? Andrew Biehler, ?08, said. ?I forgot a bunch of stuff so I had to learn them over again.?

This lethargic period requires teachers to spend extra time reviewing.

?When I was teaching math, I spent the first day from break reviewing with students and then we got right back into the subject,? Ericlee Gilmore, student leadership adviser, said. ?Students have to make a habit of making their minds practice old concepts.?

Just as the body requires exercise, the mind demands activity in order to stay alert and remember basic knowledge.

?Our brain requires that we constantly review things in order to remember them,? Gilmore said. ?This is especially true if it is a concept that you do not care about.?

In order to prevent students from getting ?fat in the head,? the idea of year-round school gains attention in the U.S. with more than 2.1 million children enrolled in those schools, according to the National Association for Year-Round Education, in Adrienne Mand Lewin’s June 1, 2006, article, “School?s Out? Not So Fast.”

?The idea of a long summer vacation really is not conductive to learning because the review time in September cuts into the 180 days,? Sam Pepper, National Association for Year-Round Education executive director, said. ?We?re finding, especially among lower socio-economic students, this is really showing academic gains.?

Some oppose the notion of year-round schooling, citing it prevents many students from attending recreational event or learning in an environment outside of the classroom.

?Even though I didn?t keep my mind active, I tried to read once in a while over break,? Christina Cabias, ?07, said. ?We should have summer vacation, because it gives our brain time to rest from school.?

Ultimately, it is up to students to decide if they should keep their minds active and avoid getting ?fat in the head.?