tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5274291.post111604445501178241..comments2023-10-30T09:45:32.994-05:00Comments on The Musings of Kev: Don't Mess with Our CalendarKevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433235586096305061noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5274291.post-1116174106251886232005-05-15T11:21:00.000-05:002005-05-15T11:21:00.000-05:00My freshman year of HS was crazy. We got out for t...My freshman year of HS was crazy. We got out for the summer early, and then started later than everyone else because we had to wait for the school's construction to be finished. That year we had very little breaks, and our 1st semester exams were after the holiday vacation. They cut the next summer short so the district could get back on the old schedule. It made everyone a lot happier.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5274291.post-1116169406429193622005-05-15T10:03:00.000-05:002005-05-15T10:03:00.000-05:00You'll get no argument from me about there being t...You'll get no argument from me about there being too many staff-development days. It sounds like your district overdoes it more than ours does; I can only remember about four such days all year over here.<BR/><BR/>"<I>Back in my day, school started the Tuesday after Labor Day and ended the Friday before Memorial Day.</I>" <BR/><BR/>Yeah, but there was also a small number of required days for the school year back then. That's the problem--it just doesn't fit into those parameters anymore. <BR/><BR/>We haven't had a week at Thanksgiving ever since the not-before-August 21 start date was instituted, and it's been eons since Presidents' Day was a day off. Our fall break (your Week Just Because) has never been more than two days, and one of them is Fair Day.<BR/><BR/>You make a lot of valid points here, but I think that being able to finish the fall semester before Christmas trumps everything else. Colleges can fit their sixteen-week semesters in if they start in very late August, but public schools need the two extra weeks.<BR/><BR/>(And yes, I do have a dog in this hunt, because our high school solo and ensemble contest is the first weekend in February. It's really hard to suddenly have a whole week, right before the contest, nearly gutted by the schools being on exam schedule.)<BR/><BR/>But ultimately, it's about the students: it's a big waste of time to have to review everything again after Christmas. Let's just get it done beforehand and start anew in the spring.Kevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01433235586096305061noreply@blogger.com