[quote=“MiG”]A great example of Bike Shedding: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikeshedding
“Bikeshedding involves discussions about relatively unimportant issues which result in extensive debate. It may be the result of individuals who wish to contribute feeling that they don’t have the knowledge or expertise to contribute on more significant issues. Bikeshedding can result in discussions that, whilst on-topic, nevertheless effectively drown out other discussions on more significant issues.”
Perhaps there’s a more important and more complex issue that is being ignored?[/quote]
While the exchange between Chien22 and BTravenn is interesting, I don’t want to lose sight of the discussion on the pros and cons of extending spring break.
I have been out of teaching for six years now and my kids are all out of the system so I really have nothing to gain one way or another from the decision. However, it is a topic that is very much worth discussing even if it leads to a better understanding of the constraints under which students and teachers learn and work.
If I were still teaching and had a vote, I would vote against the extension of spring break if the only way to do so was to add a few minutes to the day. Note, I am not saying that an extension is a bad idea. Nor am I saying that adding minutes to the day is a bad idea. For me, as a teacher of an academic, content driven course with a government exam at the end of the year, I don’t see that approach helping me or my students.
But, adding minutes to a day at the expense of five missed classes could be beneficial. In art and woodshop for example where much of the time is spent on completing projects, longer yet fewer classes would work just fine. Not only do you have the same amount of time to work on projects, but the time saved by not having to set up/clean up for the five days that no longer exist can be added to project time.
That is just a simple example of how the discussion can be complicated with two teachers who want the best for their students. But I believe the discussion is even more complicated than that. As Pantagruel pointed out on the first page, we work under a model that was set up for a rural community. Perhaps we should be looking at the atomic reactor of changing the entire yearly calendar rather than tinkering with the bike shed of a spring break.
But for now I would just like to see the discussion get back to the pros and cons of an extended spring break. And before we get too many negatives, are their any Annunciation parents or teachers on here that can tell us the rationale behind and their experiences with and extended spring break.