Writing about this topic is tricky, because not everyone experiences spring break the same way. Besides, at the risk of sounding like an ungrateful saint-ciborium, I have absolutely no memory of my spring break as a child. Sorry, Mom, if you had trouble organizing lots of special outings… I don’t remember any of them. Tell yourself that I must have felt fulfilled the rest of the year!
This memory lapse may also be caused by how lucky I was not to feel buried by lessons and homework when I was in elementary school (another story in high school). The contrast, therefore, between a normal week and a week off was not so great. And it’s not like we’re going on a trip either. Among the practices inherited from mother to daughter: opting for off-season trips rather than overpriced trips…
So why pay tribute to the school break?
Because I’ve never heard anyone exclaim “I’m on fire!” at the end of February. If it’s written anywhere, it’s on an old Mood Design t-shirt, and the person wearing it is probably a little dead inside. Studies have proven this, in particular those which led to the first official spring break in Quebec in 1979… We remember Fernand Paradis, director of a school board, who, during his studies in teaching, had analyzed over five years the curves of absenteeism in children from the first to the sixth year. Observation: at this same period, the peak was stronger on the side of the teachers too… In other words: everyone is tired, tabarnak. And for those who are not, we can see that as prevention… or a blessing.
You, Maya, what are your plans for spring break? Well, I work. So, this year, I release my resourcefulness, thank the CPE for being open on the days when I need it and thank my boyfriend freelancer to go into the great outdoors with the greatest few days. I will have one-on-one dinners, moments one on one, with the last, which is not to be overlooked. He’s been living with his sister for five years, I’ve had dinner with both for five years, let’s celebrate the benefits of the new configurations.
Asking the question is answering it, but I still asked myself, through all that: when they return from vacation, do the teachers see a difference between those who have been stuck in the slush or their room to read, to keeping busy, watching TV, because the parents work, and those who went to the South? (Insert here the image of the Mood Design t-shirt “ADIOS AMIGOS”)
High school history teacher, my always very straight to the point friend Émilie, whom I question about her observations over the years, brings me back to basics.
“To be honest, the students never seem rested when they return from vacation! They went to bed super late every day, they got into the habit of getting up at noon every day… They don’t find that cool when the alarm clock rings at 6 a.m. on Monday morning! »
OK, but there… What’s the point?
“It takes them a few days to recover,” she continues. And when I ask them what they liked the most, the answer that comes up most often is SLEEP! Yes, some tell me about their trips, ski trips, vacations at the chalet… But what they all always appreciate the most is not having to put up with the school timetable. »
(This is where the majority of Humeur Design t-shirts go.)
““CAT” IS FINE! »
“I TAKE “CAT” EASY! »
“I’M GETTING BACK ON PITON…”
More and more schools would offer breaks in March, with one more at Easter. Imagine when the chocolate will board on top of that…
“CAT” GO, MY COCO? !