I heard an interesting comment from someone in New England. Apparently, the state of (excuse me… Commonwealth of) Massachusetts had so many snow days that their public school students will be in school until June 25th. That’ll give them a summer break of about two months instead of the usual 3.
Compare to Texas. When hurricane Rita hit in 2008, we were out of school for almost 8 weeks. Of course, when we came back, it was bad. There were schools that lost all the text books. Students rarely evacuated with their school supplies, so many didn’t have anything (even clothes or a place to live in some cases). All the portable buildings had been damaged, but we had to use them.
What’s interesting though is that the State of Texas waived all but two of those 8 weeks away from school. Students basically missed two entire months of school for the 2008 school year.
Personally speaking, I was grateful because I was teaching in a portable building with a single window AC unit and no insulation. By May, my classroom temp was hitting 100°F in the afternoon. But we should suffer some for our craft.
I just find it interesting that in New England, they expect students to have a full 196 days of education, while in Texas, 156 is fine.
