There was a time, not that long ago, when the school calendar was almost carved on stone tablets. School always started after Labour Day and ended on the last Friday in June. If you worked at a high school, provincial exams started at the beginning of June and wrapped up a couple of weeks later, so the substantial work was completed even earlier in June. While Christmas Day drove the timing of the two-week holiday break, you generally had most of the week before Christmas – when the kids, too, were more than ready for a break! – and a few days into the New Year before returning to welcome back your students, who were happy to see their friends (and maybe, even, their favourite teacher!)
Easter is always at different times in the calendar, and many times the return from spring break would be followed by an additional four days off – bonus!
Finally, in the true spirit of regimentation, BC’s Standard Calendar meant that schools across the province all celebrated spring break in the middle of March. In these simpler times, spring break was (gasp!) just a one-week affair!
The planning for the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics shook things up. Organizers and government officials assumed that many BC residents would want to attend the Olympic events and street parties, which could mean major attendance challenges for schools. Legislation was enacted that scrapped the Standard Calendar, and instead empowered boards of education to establish their own locally-driven calendars. Bravo, la démocratie.
Another benefit of the legislative change was that most districts adopted the two-week spring break, in return for adding a few minutes of instruction to each day, or a similar formula that assured the public that students wouldn’t lose instructional time. Encore, bravo, la démocratie.
Which brings us to today’s multi-channel, multimedia experience, when few common experiences exist, and that includes spring break in BC’s schools. No longer do we all experience the break at the same time, and this change has produced some unintended consequences. When spring break was aligned, very little business – including Ministry business – happened during that week. Today, for the span of a month from early March to early April, schools and districts around the province each have their own break schedule. The consequence, like the 24-hour news-cycle, is that the business of education – budgets, policy decisions, emails, and announcements – continues. Spring break is no longer a time to totally switch off, tune out, and kick back.
And so, with the school calendar ‘tablets’ smashed, and spring break unmoored, I bring this short history lesson to a close!
For the majority of members, today is the last day before spring break. Some are in the middle of their break (and, hopefully, not reading this yet). Others are eagerly anticipating the break ahead. And while we might not completely switch off or tune out anymore, as you might have done during that simpler time, you can certainly kick back and enjoy the change of pace.
The President’s column in eNews will be here to welcome you on Friday, April 5.
To each and every member, I hope you are enjoying, or anticipating, a wonderful spring break!
Brian