Back to school . . . . . already?
The local schools broke up for the summer holidays just two weeks
ago. The children are enjoying their freedom even as the parents wonder how they’re
going to occupy their youngsters. Maybe they’re even counting the days until
school commences once more.
There are still four weeks of the holiday left before term starts,
but already advertisements are appearing exhorting parents to stock up on school essentials. Can the children not be allowed to be carefree for a little while until they have to think about pencil cases and backpacks and the like?
The summer holidays are too long, in UK, at least. Children, particularly the youngest, can regress quite alarmingly. For decades there have been discussions about splitting the school year into four terms, rather than three. At least one authority tried it for a while, but it has never caught on nationwide.
Christmas catalogues soon!
I used to hate the tv ads that reminded me school holidays were soon finishing. Mind torture for kids.
ReplyDeleteMy state has gone to four terms a year in recent years and I think it is a good idea and I haven't heard complaints about it. Instead of summer holidays of over six weeks, it is now about four, covering Christmas and New Year until late January.
Andrew, school breaks up before Christmas which brings an extra week and a half at least, so they still get six weeks, since January has four and a half weeks.
DeleteAndrew, it's worse than the Sunday evening feeling!
DeleteHere we have two solid months plus a long weekend ( which totals over nine weeks) of summer holidays from school. Think of how much more our kids lose in skills! I think our schools would need retrofitted for air conditioning in order to hold classes in July and August, though. Our summers are just too hot and humid.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense. Are there summer camps for the children?
DeleteThere are no camps through the school system, but there are YMCA and other privately run programs. Most are only for two weeks, though. Parents who both work outside the home have to pay for camps and private care, and a number of kids end up as latch-key children at an age when I would not have wanted my kids to be home alone all day.
DeleteI expect the catalogues are out early so parents have time to gather all the necessary items. We have had four terms for a long while now in Australia, but the summer holidays are still the long break, with three two week breaks throught the year. In my opinion that's too many holidays, especially with other public holidays scattered in. I don't recall losing any skills over the summers and none of my kids did either.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it helps with budgeting. Children certainly do slip back in the holidays, usually the ones that least need it!
DeleteI don't know about here but in NZ the school holidays are still fixed in a system that was originally devised to suit a farming year - spud picking in May, lambing in August, and haymaking in summer - all jobs the kids were needed for. At least a long summer holiday was a decent chance to get some work each year. F picked strawberries and worked in sheep shearing jobs every summer.
ReplyDeleteYes, I recollect that our holidays were determined by the farming year - spuds and hops and fruit. Sheep shearing is a skill never to be forgotten, I should think!
DeleteIn Belgium until last year the whole country slept during July and August because of 2 months school holidays. Now they reformed the system. There are "only" 6 weeks, and the two others are added to Christmas and Spring holidays which were only one week or so, I don't remember, as in Holland they had already this system. 2 months were far too long, that was from former times when children had to help for the harvest !
ReplyDeleteI forgot that farming had a big influence on holidays. Now, city children don't even know that milk comes from cows!
DeleteI know that I used to watch the M&S sales of school uniform that could start as early as June! Matalan was better than M&S, to be honest.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a lot easier on employers, parents and kids if there were four terms, but the transition would be tough. I also wonder how it would affect teachers as I know in son's school there was a lot of prep and planning going on when the kids were on holiday.
Changing the terms would affect things like GCSEs and SATs, too, I suppose.
DeleteThe Summer holidays are even longer here in Belgium, two whole months, and there are ongoing discussions about it here as well. And yes, the shops have been full of new school stuff for weeks! xxx
ReplyDeleteI sometimes have the impression we're rushing through life without stopping to take notice.
ReplyDelete