School Holidays....too much of a good thing?

[Thala Dan]

It’s cold, wet, and windy….so I’m sitting here trying to cheer myself up by planning the coming Spring, Summer, and Autumn forays into the mountains in pursuit of the noble Trout.

As usual, I have to plan around the frequently occurring school holidays (living in a border area is a bitch – you cop a double whammy of school holidays).

Seeing all the little coloured squares on the calendar got me to wondering…..are we overdoing it a bit?

So I decided to plot “Days not at school”……..yeah, I’m bored sh1tless.

Following are the numbers for Victoria.


Days not at school:

School holidays (weekdays only, including inclusive Public Holidays): 50

Public Holidays (exclusive of School holidays): 11

Weekends: 104

Total days not at school: 165

Percentage of the year not at school: 45.21%


Now I’m not one of those people who think that kids should be back down the coal mines……..but I wonder…..in this day and age, can our children really afford 45% of the year off during their most formative years?

In addition to the obvious loss of formal academic learning time, what about the stress on the parents (both probably working), and the social consequences of “lots of bored youngsters with too much time on their hands”?

I appreciate that many good learning experiences, and perhaps some study, can occur during at least some of this off-time.

But that’s a bit of a hit and miss thing, very much dependent on the attitude, and economic capacity, of the parents to a large extent.

What say you all….....thoughts?

Oh……..and when I come back for a second go around, I want to come back as a school teacher

[hinekadon]

And to add to your comments why a school teacher ???? Your start at kindergarten and never leave school .Hardly a way to get life education ! So to balance it up you only work half the time as everyone else ????? hence 45.21 % lol

[Jma]

When I went to school in the 70's (QLD) we got 2 weeks off in May, another 2 in August & 6 at the end of the year.
At the time I believed that was nowhere near enough.

[enf]

Geeeee TD, you must be at loose ends.

I, thankfully, no longer have any of my six being schoolies. F*ck, I hated holidays....

All the bullsh*t that went with school days like lunches, transport, blah blah blah was in fact quite easy compared to days off. I dunno about where you are, but here there are also "pupil free days" for the teachers. I used to say these were set aside for them to smoke some weed and chill out....cause I remember what my friends and I were like.

As long as they learn, I really don't care. My personal crusade was to get them to question what they had been taught in an effort to get them to be able to think independently. THAT was the headache.

Good luck with the fishng...............

[george65]

If you think they get a lot of days off school, wait till they go to Uni. They can have 4 months off at a time before the year starts and then get holidays in that and some only go 2-3 Days a week.

[WhiteOx]

Oh……..and when I come back for a second go around, I want to come back as a school teacher

My son in law is a high school teacher, holidays for him basicly means work from home - or so he tells me.

[lsemmens]

The difference between when most of us were kids and now is that most of us probably had mum at home to look after us when we weren't at school. The number of holidays probably hasn't changed all that much. I do not understand "pupil free days" though. School starts (last time I looked at around 0900 and finishes at around 0330. In most other industries work usually lasts for 8 hours plus breaks. So the other 2 1/2 hours (roughly) should actually be called "pupil free time".

Sadly, there are Teachers and there are teachers. IYKWIM.

[ol' boy]

It is actually a valid point or concern Thala Dan
Look at South Korea and its education expectations...
It will come as no surprise when we are taken over by our South East Asians friends in years to come

[Uncle Fester]

If you think they get a lot of days off school, wait till they go to Uni. They can have 4 months off at a time before the year starts and then get holidays in that and some only go 2-3 Days a week.

Precisely, having two of my kids going through UNI to observe that.
It makes you wonder VERY MUCH where those $90,000 (50% taxpayer funded) exactly go, that a full course costs. Also when doing distance study.

My days at UNI were from 8 to 5 everyday, with six weeks off to earn as much as I could in order to survive. Evenings and weekends were for home study.
Different time and different country though. UNI was free.

On the flip side I have read that teachers are having trouble focussing on proper teaching due to too much overregulation and bureaucracy going on in our (public)schools.

[gordon_s1942]

Basically the 'school year' consists of around 40 weeks with 12 weeks of breaks during the year.
Because of our climate, the longest break occurs over the late December to either late January or early February.
Unfortunately certain times like Easter are not 'fixed. but is based on the phases of the Moon which is contrary to the Calendar.
Those in the Northern hemisphere have their longest break over their Summer (June/July/August) with a NEW school year starting in early September and then with only a few days break over Christmas/New Year are nearly continuous until around April/May.

There isnt much anyone can do about those Business who increase their charges form the first school day no matter where it occurs.
I am sure they would like to add other Countries School term breaks to their list but that I think might get them accused of being blatant thieves, not that they arent.

[DB44]

Worthwhile discussion point, but I say give the poor kids a break. They don't need more time, just better quality time. Let's face it, a good part of the curriculum is cluttered with useless garbage. And teaching has more than its fair share of useless time servers in a vocation that should be one they love but is instead just another job. There's too many of them that would find the job very fulfilling if every day was a pupil free day. In the meantime many potentially really good teachers get so frustrated with the system they work in and the incompetence and disinterest of many of their colleagues and their leadership they become just as bad.

Let's try to give the kids quality in the time they have at school before demanding more of their time. Too many schools are simply sub-standard babysitting services.

[Al Bundy]

In my younger years I did some fill in teaching at TAFE, not Primary school, not High school, not college I know, my daughter currently teaches mathematics and physical sciences (Chemistry, Physics etc.) at a college here in Tassie, if any of you believe for a minute that a teachers work time is confined to 0900 - 1530 ( not 0330 as mentioned above) then all I can say is your clueless.

Many hours before and after that time period are dedicated to preparing for classes (lesson plans if you like), marking, giving extra time to struggling students etc. Do you really, think when the teacher walks in to a classroom everything has already been prepared for them by somebody else? And when I say outside of the normal hours mentioned I include weekends, ( as hinted above in a couple of posts). As the ratio of students to teachers has increased dramatically then so obviously the time spent by teachers on students has also increased, I can assure you most of that is not between the hours of 0900 - 1530.

Another issue that has to be dealt with here in Tassie is dwindling funds coming from the government who wants to reduce the number of teachers(and at the same time give themselves pay increases in excess of 12% while restricting all government departments to a budget of 2% increases for wages, f#@king hypocrites) there is also a push to close down colleges around the state and spread those students across a large number of High Schools, extending those schools from grade 10 to grade 12, unfortunately of course they don’t have the number of qualified teachers to cover those subjects for Grades 11 & 12 at all schools, so a lot of Grade 11 & 12 students in most schools are going to be severely restricted as to what subjects they can do, and to what level, what a shamosel, but I digress.

I note one comment above, “Sadly, there are Teachers and there are teachers. IYKWIM” to which I agree, but I will also add to that there are Students and there are students. IYKWIM, and further to that, there are Holidays and there are holidays. IYKWIM

[lsemmens]

No argument with you there Al. 'Twas I who said the school day ran from 0900 - 0330, my stoopid! The intent was not so much the time that teachers worked on school days but more in the times that students were supposedly present on said days. I've been close to many teachers over the years and, they all put in way more than 8 hours a day in prep and class time. In fact, my Daughter in Law is a high-school sports teacher. My sister was a high school Maths teacher, wife's brother is a principal and a close friend is a retired principal. That takes care of my immediate circle. Their attitude is much the same. "Get rid of the pen pushers and put them on the tools!"

[DB44]

Their attitude is much the same. "Get rid of the pen pushers and put them on the tools!"

Unfortunately most of the pen pushers not only don't know what a tool is but are themselves tools in a different sense of the word. I also have a relative who teaches sports and is one of the few people I know who really loves their job. Puts in plenty of hours which are appreciated by parents and kids but not by the Department. Seems to be continually fighting over some stupid decision or particularly incompetent act.

On the other hand, I was at a barbecue years ago where a friends wife expressed the opinion that parents should have no choice about what school their children attended, on the basis that terrible schools were made worse when they got to the stage parents started pulling their kids out. She then proceeded to describe her class full of hopeless delinquents with no redeeming features though talking only in general terms. I was incredulous. She was teaching in a good school in a good area. I imagined a class of totally bored15 or 16 year old kids who probably would be better off as apprentices anyway. But no. She was teaching third graders. The problem was not the kids but her. She is a nice lady but was in a totally unsuitable job, and it was just a job to her.

The absolutely hopeless ones and those like her make up a good proportion of the teaching profession. Especially when their attitudes and skill levels are no bar to promotion. Especially to those who would rather play politics or identify as a member of a disadvantaged group. There are some fantastic public schools around, though my observation is that this can change very quickly. It seems to depend quite a lot on the school leadership and their control of discipline. It doesn't take long for a good school to become a terrible one when a bad head or deputy head is appointed.

[lsemmens]

So true. Of course there is also the old saying, "Those who can, do, those can't, teach, and those who can't teach, become administrators".

[Al Bundy]

....Of course there is also the old saying, "Those who can, do, those can't, teach.....

Ive always liked this saying, but can never work out how “Those who can” knew how to “do”?

[ol' boy]

I guess as Adults, we can't complain too much about the kids