Last day of Summer Vacation!

[lloyd3]

My little guy heads off to 5th grade tomorrow and his wish for his last day of comparative leisure was a ride in the car. He had to go get a new eyeglass prescription today as well, so we made an event of it. The optometrist noticed his '68 Charger shirt and asked  him about it, so he mentioned that it was out in the parking lot.  You guessed it, after relating multiple stories about growing up with his dad's '69 in Florida, and finally getting my son his prescription, we were out in the lot with the Doctor looking the car over. We then headed out to grab some lunch at a restaurant where I could keep an eye on the car. A lot more "standard" driving than I usually do with it, but it helped make a good day out of an otherwise bittersweet occasion.

Remember when Summer Vacation started in June and ended in September?  This going back to school in August is pretty sad.

[grdprx]

Remember when Summer Vacation started in June and ended in September?  This going back to school in August is pretty sad.

I've been saying the same thing!  My kids go back on the 28th & 29th, then have a 3 day weekend.
Sounds like a great day with your son!   I took my kids out for ice cream last weekend in mine. My youngest is 5 and a half, usually she doesn't like the loud throttle, but she asked me to go Fast on the way home. Music to my ears!

[Mike DC]

   
This year-round school thing is bullshit.  


If kids went to school for 365 days a year, pretty soon the D.O.E. would be saying they need to keep kids more hours per day to get the job done.  There will never be an enough point.

[ionracer24]

Used to be all u needed to finish school was a frizbee, gas mask helped, protest songs, white rabbit TNT...mmhmm  wheeeeeeewwww!

[wingcar]

School days are not what they use to be.....................

[bakerhillpins]

Remember when Summer Vacation started in June and ended in September?  This going back to school in August is pretty sad.

IDK, around here it's because they pack so many extra "in-service" and vacation weeks into the school year.  In PA when I was young we got 1 week for spring break, up here in NH they get 2 weeks, a "winter" and a "spring" break.  Same # of days required just more screwing around during the year.

YMMV

[Homerr]

My niece in Arizona started high-school back up on August 5th.  They get out of school at the beginning of May though.

As a kid growing up in WA we always went back to school the day after Labor Day.

[DadsCharger00]

My niece in Nebraska (insert Nebraska joke here) only goes to school Tuesday thru Friday. Every Monday off....start like a week earlier then everyone, end a week later but that's the only adjustment to the schedule.

[Chad L. Magee]

School days are not what they use to be.....................

Ahh, quantum physics coupled with magnatism.  I remember those days.  Good times....

I just wish my chalkboards at the university were that size, that would be nice.  I always need to erase them several times each class period (on top of the information that is on the powerpoint slides)...

[polywideblock]

here in oz we have 4 school terms with a 2 week break in-between on three of them and a 4 week break over Christmas       

[lloyd3]

I can see the argument for breaking up the year a bit to allow for some pleasant distractions. I also can understand not wanting the kiddies to forget everything learned last year over a long period of inactivity. My biggest gripe is really that it's just not what I'm used to (a classic complaint of someone who's not comfortable with change, i.e. a curmudgeon!).  In agricultural societies, children were/are critical in helping keep the farms running and the Summer months were/are some of the busiest. When I was a youngster, those forces were either still partially in-place or the tradition had taken hold enough to not be easily disturbed (also, very few, if any, schools in my part of the world had AC).  A lot has changed in the last 50-years or so (don't we know it!) and agriculture isn't the dominant force in American society (certainly not the urban ones) any more.  Because of population density in some areas, the only way to meet the ongoing educational needs is to run the schools year-round.

Even knowing all of this, I'd still like my boy to know the simple pleasures of a long, lazy summer. At least a couple before he's caught up in all of the teenager stuff.  Probably unrealistic on my part.

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

I had a 1968 Charger in my senior year of HS as an Auto Shop project. Of course, I had a teacher like this...