Why Do We Need Half-Term?
IT’S half-term holiday. That time when mums and dads have a laugh with their children, building dens in the woods, eating late and running about. Good isn’t it. Until mum and dad have to spend time with little Armani’s mum and dad and become friends through the nippers. Let’s abolish it:
The half-term break is a product of the long school terms that we have. Exhausted children (and teachers) cannot make their way through 13 or 14 weeks of school without becoming worn out, a problem that anecdotally seems to be increasing with constant testing and mounting pressure to jump through various performance hoops in our grindingly unimaginative school system. Children’s energy levels cannot be helped, either, by well-meaning parents who pile on violin and ballet and tennis and Mandarin lessons at the end of the school day.
Oddly, the design of the academic year, a matter you would think would be subjected to the most rigorous professional scrutiny – and if necessary revision – in the interests of the best outcome for children, hasn’t been seriously scrutinised since it was invented with the main aim of getting kids out into the fields to bring in the harvest.
Posted: 30th, May 2007 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
