Anonymous wrote:Look at it this way-it's harder for them to indoctrinate your kids when they are never there for a while week.

+1 love this!!

Look at it this way-it's harder for them to indoctrinate your kids when they are never there for a while week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a longer year, though. As a teacher, I would prefer less days off during the year and a longer summer. These days off here and there help to catch up on sleep, but I can’t clear my head. I am always thinking about teaching.

I am also a teacher, but I have the opposite opinion. I support what research shows, that shorter and more frequent breaks are better for learning, and for preventing learning loss, than long summer breaks are.

I'm not sure how you can ever clear your head. Even with long summers, I am always thinking about teaching. In fact, I spend most of the summer each year catching up on professional reading and planning that I did not have time for during the school year.

You spend nearly 10 weeks on “professional reading”? Doubt that. What exactly are you reading - FCPS doesn’t assign anything or have one standardized book. I’m sure you have vacations. Sick of the exaggerations of how teachers spend all summer reading and planning. They don’t.

-former FCPS teacher

Perhaps some additional instruction in reading comprehension would be helpful to you, for I stated that I spend MOST of the summer on professional reading and planning.

This past summer, I read three books about learner-centered instruction, one about elevating student voice, and one about digital citizenship.

I also read over 12 young adult novels and memoirs to expand my repertoire of diverse authors.

Additionally, I completely redesigned one of our major units and part of a second unit to reflect what I learned about learner-centered instruction and elevating student voice.

Yes, I took a short vacation, but I spent, as I do most summers, MOST of the summer working.

I'm sorry that it comes as such a shock to you that any teacher would choose to read professional texts that are not assigned by FCPS. I am far from alone in choosing to better myself as a teacher and person by researching, reading, and implementing things that are not assigned to me. In fact, among my colleagues at my school, I am fairly average. Many of us do exactly what I do-- choose to better ourselves as educators by constantly learning.

So in other words, a bunch of new age fluff. Not the least of which will be helpful to students or actually improve learner outcomes. I suggest reading actual historical content, focusing on solid content objectives, or brushing up on grammar. So many educators focus on pedagogy and teach incorrect information to students!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So only Christian holidays are ok for OP?

Your post "might" have had some credibility if you didn't throw that in there.

Name a Christian holiday that isn't part of some other break. Hint - there aren't any.

In fact, there's only one Christian holiday that is part of an existing break and that one is far longer than it needs to be and the entire country takes it off anyway.

You fail.

Sometimes I get a little crazy at the colonizers talk and the white supremacist everything….

But OMG that absolute ignorance in this post that Christian Holidays are part of other breaks BECAUSE THE CHRISTIAN CALENDAR WAS FOR GENERATIONS THE PRIORITIZED CALENDAR. If you can’t grasp that fact….: 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So only Christian holidays are ok for OP?

Your post "might" have had some credibility if you didn't throw that in there.

Name a Christian holiday that isn't part of some other break. Hint - there aren't any.

In fact, there's only one Christian holiday that is part of an existing break and that one is far longer than it needs to be and the entire country takes it off anyway.

You fail.

Both winter break and spring break are often right around Easter and Christmas. What other major Christian holidays are there? So two out of two. I fail to see how that's not catering to the Christian majority.

This is why Christians in this country are losing/have lost all credibility. You arent persecuted. You're just throwing a fit that the world now includes people other than you.

"Right around" isn't a day off from a school day. Winter Break has nothing to do with Christmas, and Spring Break is a matter of convenience.

Put kids in school on a consistent schedule.

It’s great that the teacher above read some books to improve her teaching and constantly learn.

It’s also great that you got the summer to do it. Lots of professionals also read to keep up with the changing ways of their profession and to constantly learn how to improve. And they’re doing it after work, or on weekends, or when they’re on vacation with their PTO time.

I could sit by the pool and go through a couple books per week if I were off all summer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a longer year, though. As a teacher, I would prefer less days off during the year and a longer summer. These days off here and there help to catch up on sleep, but I can’t clear my head. I am always thinking about teaching.

I am also a teacher, but I have the opposite opinion. I support what research shows, that shorter and more frequent breaks are better for learning, and for preventing learning loss, than long summer breaks are.

I'm not sure how you can ever clear your head. Even with long summers, I am always thinking about teaching. In fact, I spend most of the summer each year catching up on professional reading and planning that I did not have time for during the school year.

You spend nearly 10 weeks on “professional reading”? Doubt that. What exactly are you reading - FCPS doesn’t assign anything or have one standardized book. I’m sure you have vacations. Sick of the exaggerations of how teachers spend all summer reading and planning. They don’t.

-former FCPS teacher

Perhaps some additional instruction in reading comprehension would be helpful to you, for I stated that I spend MOST of the summer on professional reading and planning.

This past summer, I read three books about learner-centered instruction, one about elevating student voice, and one about digital citizenship.

I also read over 12 young adult novels and memoirs to expand my repertoire of diverse authors.

Additionally, I completely redesigned one of our major units and part of a second unit to reflect what I learned about learner-centered instruction and elevating student voice.

Yes, I took a short vacation, but I spent, as I do most summers, MOST of the summer working.

I'm sorry that it comes as such a shock to you that any teacher would choose to read professional texts that are not assigned by FCPS. I am far from alone in choosing to better myself as a teacher and person by researching, reading, and implementing things that are not assigned to me. In fact, among my colleagues at my school, I am fairly average. Many of us do exactly what I do-- choose to better ourselves as educators by constantly learning.

Anonymous wrote:Christian here and I hate the two week winter break. Way too long. I could also do without Veterans and Presidents Day, while I'm slashing and burning

180 days of school was never enough, and that fact is even more glaring in the wake of the pandemic. We should be using federal dollars to pay teachers for 200 days for the next several years. Stop talking about catching up and let's do it.

200 days is an extra month in school. Very few teachers want that.

Christian here and I hate the two week winter break. Way too long. I could also do without Veterans and Presidents Day, while I'm slashing and burning

180 days of school was never enough, and that fact is even more glaring in the wake of the pandemic. We should be using federal dollars to pay teachers for 200 days for the next several years. Stop talking about catching up and let's do it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish some schools were year round around here and we could pick which we'd prefer. I'd like 6 weeks of school followed by 1/2 weeks off. All these random days are killing me.

Btw, I saw all the stands of fireworks for Diwali and that people were buying them like crazy. I was seriously hoping for some firework shows. I do wish that some of these holidays that we get off could be enjoyed by others the way Christmas is.

What do you think non-Christians are enjoying about Christmas? Everything being closed? Mall Santa? Overcrowded movie theaters and shops? "Happy Birthday Jesus" songs (or worse: Wham! every 10 minutes) on the radio for 2 months?
But, sure, the lights are pretty.

My husband is an atheist and my child has never been to Church but we celebrate Christmas in the secular way. We decorate a tree and buy presents and bake cookies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish some schools were year round around here and we could pick which we'd prefer. I'd like 6 weeks of school followed by 1/2 weeks off. All these random days are killing me.

Btw, I saw all the stands of fireworks for Diwali and that people were buying them like crazy. I was seriously hoping for some firework shows. I do wish that some of these holidays that we get off could be enjoyed by others the way Christmas is.

What do you think non-Christians are enjoying about Christmas? Everything being closed? Mall Santa? Overcrowded movie theaters and shops? "Happy Birthday Jesus" songs (or worse: Wham! every 10 minutes) on the radio for 2 months?
But, sure, the lights are pretty.

I mean, you act like non-Christians don't enjoy or even participate in the Christmas festivities. Sure, they aren't going to church. But they are doing a lot of the other things (my school, friend circle, work place . . . it's all very diverse from all over, many different religions). You don't want to, fine. But, you're not going to change an extended winter break. You're not. If this is the hill you want to die on, you'll get your wish I guess.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had 3 (4?) religious holidays so far this year... and endless more to come.

Liberals fought hard to remove any entanglement between public school and Christian religion, now these hypocrites can't add enough religious holidays to the schedule.

Wish my kids were in school and learning. Wish the School Board even cared about that.

Maybe you should send your kid to private. Homeschooling is also an option.

Sorry but privates have even more days off!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s terrible for routine and consistency for kids.
Get rid of the 4 day Labor Day weekend (I know, it’s VA law), get rid of Columbus Day, and get rid of Veteran’s Day. The kids don’t need those off.

Get rid of President's Day.

Heck, most of the Federal Holidays could be school days.

To make summer longer? No thank you.

Just make it so that having 5 days of school isn't the exception. Is that so hard? I don't care what they need to do to figure that out but having 4 days of school is not ideal--for students --young or old. 2 weeks off in December is ridiculous especially with all the shortened weeks in January. November is a joke. October has been a joke. WHY do they do this??? So we're in school so much of June once AP and SOLs are done????? painful and not necesssary.

Anonymous wrote:The O days last year were a disaster and truly school as daycare. Research shows lots of learning loss over the summer. I fully support anything that makes the summer shorter, with a side benefit that kids can learn new content each school day instead of some days being a waste for those who do attend. And bonus, everyone feels included. Win-win.

No thanks. Reduce the summer and you’ll have even more teachers changing careers.