It’s getting harder for parents to keep track of all the days when schools aren’t in session.
Between all the spring break dates, Pro-D days, regular holidays and early dismissals, it can get rather confusing.
It might be a good starting point if all the school districts in B.C. standardized the dates for spring break.
The Cowichan Valley School District is currently in the first of its two weeks. Others on the Island have also started at the same time, but there’s additional districts that don’t begin until either March 20 or even March 27.
Each school district can presently set its own date, but it certainly seems like some kind of coordination effort should be launched.
Remember when the Family Day holiday was created and suddenly people began to realize the date chosen in B.C. didn’t match up with others across the country? Eventually, the B.C. date was altered in keeping with provinces that already had a Family Day holiday.
The same thing could probably be said about the Daylight Time debate. The decision whether to go to Pacific Daylight Time or Standard Time year-round hasn’t happened yet because the U.S. states on the West Coast aren’t on the same page about doing it.
At least in that case, it didn’t go ahead until a consensus is reached, unlike the others.
It might be argued schools don’t need a two-week break at this time of the year anyway. The end of the school year is only a little more than a scant three months away.
But that debate ran out long ago when instructional hours were cut significantly over the years due to budget restraints.
Education is probably more important to young people than ever before and it just seems sometimes they’re spending more time on breaks or vacations than in the classroom. That time is of the essence to learn those important skills for an increasingly-competitive and changing job market.
The good old days in previous generations when kids had to walk several miles to class through inclement weather and they went five days a week from September through June, with only a Christmas break, are obviously long gone.