Longer break hurts students
Times Colonist (Victoria)
May 23, 2009
By: Don Peterson

I am shocked that the Victoria school district decided to add an extra week to spring break. This was not to save money, but simply to allow families to go on longer vacations.

I am a teacher. I do have students who go away for an extra holiday and miss school, but this is a small handful. They do not all go at the same time.

It is shocking that such a decision would be made to accommodate a small minority of privileged families. What about the families who will now have to pay for an extra week of child care? What about families who cannot afford these vacations? What about underprivileged youth whose only positive place is at school?

It is the school district's job to offer an education. This plan is not an education.

The proposed solution to the loss of the week of school is to add an extra five minutes a day. Will the calculus teacher teach the daily lesson and then a few minutes of the next day's lesson? Of course not. This is a lost week of school.

… According to board chairman Tom Ferris, the current schedule means "you end up with some kids who are out of school and it does kind of upset the routine."

Forcing every student out of school does not solve anything.