As everybody is keenly aware, we only had one week of spring break this school year. And, as expected, many people lamented the loss of our precious free time. However, I believe this change was not entirely negative.
Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that this opinion is probably not at all popular and that I am wary of the apocalyptic outcry this article may provoke. If you desire to complain in any way, feel free to come to me and let me know. Critical feedback is always appreciated.
The one-week break is the perfect amount of time to relax and unwind. My main concern with the two-week spring break is the fact that you lose a lot of the groove and habit that you built during the school year. Perhaps this is something that I am especially affected by, but having a whole two weeks is awkward for daily ritual. When I come back from school, I feel completely unready to reenter the cycle. With the one-week break, however, I felt more prepared to go back and not tired or dazed. I think about it like the shock of jumping into a cold pool. If you’re in the water for a long time, you don’t want to get out for too long. If you do, you’ll lose the temperature regulation you gained. One week is the perfect amount of time to be out but not lose too much of that regularity.
I’ve heard peers around me say that one week is not enough time to go on any meaningful vacation. Admittedly, it’s difficult to say in any way that one week is not enough time. However, I think the way you look at it is the essential step. Typically, my family will travel for spring break and celebrate my birthday. Last year, we travelled to Cancun, where we had the luxury of spending a week at a resort. We went to a mall that had AI-slop advertisements and a LEGO store, my dad broke a flip-flop playing paddleball, I got a nice tan, and things were great. This year, we stayed home. And while staying home is not as grandiose as going to Mexico, I was still satisfied with my time off. I spent time with family and friends, got some time to sit down and play video games I’ve been wanting to finish, and got to enjoy the glimpses of nice weather we had. While those experiences were very different, I think both offered the same R&R time that you (or at least I) would expect time off to give. And in my opinion, that is the most important part of any break.
Something I haven’t mentioned yet is whether I think we should just toss out the second week of break altogether. There are other places you could consider putting it, such as between the start of school and Thanksgiving break, or between spring break and summer break. But I believe that a longer summer break is the best option. Summer should be as long as possible because it, to me, feels like the most fun time of the whole year. Everybody (even across districts) is out of school at the same time for an extended period, you get nicer weather than any other time of the year, and places like local pools, metroparks, and even amusement parks are at their most enjoyable. With all of that in summer’s favor, it makes no sense to me to shorten it in favor of spring break.
In conclusion, I think the one-week spring break we got this year was much better than the two weeks we normally have. Its brevity, while stinging in the moment, provides an overall boost to the morale and habits of students returning to school. And while vacations might not be as long or as exhilarating as they could have been, the rest and relaxation you can obtain is the most important thing any break can offer. If your family still wants to have those big two-week trips, though, you can always just leave school early. Some people do, and they’re just fine. But if you weren’t fine, you should email Ethan (ethan.cottrill@mvschool.com) to let him know that you’d love to write an article to rebut this one.