Summer break downsizing? No big deal
This story was originally published Aug. 6, 2013.
(This is a point/counterpoint on the starting dates of Indiana schools. Read Shari Rudavsky's article for her point of view.)
We met the Green Monster at Fenway Park. We sat in floor seats watching the storied Boston Celtics (play the New York Knicks, no less) at TD Garden.
We drove 14 hours to get there, taking a detour along the way to see the stunning Niagara Falls.
No, summer. We don't have you to thank for this. You with your self-righteous overuse of the last name vacation — as in Summer Vacation.
Spring gave us this trip to remember, a spring break that lasted two entire weeks — thanks to a balanced school calendar.
As some parents (um, Shari Rudavsky) bemoan that kids are back in school and yellow buses are meandering throughout town, I'm not feeling it.
Pools are closed. Summer library reading programs are over, and I have two words: Big deal.
So what that my sons, Davis, 11, Eli, 9, and Nolan, 6, headed back to school on July 31?
Some say they missed a few days, even weeks, of summer. That isn't necessarily true.
Given that school gets out at 2 p.m. (3:20 p.m. for Davis), that leaves plenty of hours for firefly chasing, slip-n-sliding and ice cream eating.
Heck, they can even do their homework sitting high atop a tree as the breeze blows the pages of their books and the cat sharpens his claws below.
Nope. Going back to school a little earlier because of a balanced calendar isn't all that bad.
With it, there are perks.
Two weeks off in October, December and March.
And do we have to wait well into June to get out for summer? No, we don't. Our last day this school year is May 30.
Parents like myself love the schedule.
Those breaks refresh the kids, but don't give them enough time to forget what they've learned.
It lets families take vacations at different times of year.
Yes, a little less summer is just fine with me.
Call Star reporter Dana Hunsinger Benbow at (317) 444-6012. Follow her on Twitter: @danabenbow.