Technolandy

Day 182 (of 2024/25) Su(cky)mmer prep

Just a reminder that not everybody has glorious plans/memories of summer breaks. One of many reasons some of us eye the school calendar with a wonder of “why”?  It’s a long break without the structure and routine of the school community… 

• Topics for a SOL (Summer of Learning) thread ✔️ theme: Dear Mr Kennedy based on his fun blog from cultureofyes.ca this week! This is good!

• Handing out gift cards for summer food security support… stark reminder that we do not ever have enough supports – and we often ‘stretch’ our mandate to support our students and families… food security is one of my hot button issues as I regularly remind people that Canada remains the long G7 nation without a food program for students (except for PEI) – and while money has been allocated by both the federal and provincial governments, the majority of our schools have never been designed with food in mind, so no cafeteria and no kitchen for most schools – and that’ll take more than the less than $1/day/student that my last estimate got to. But at least we are talking about the elephant on the barbecue…

• Anxiety picking up as families are realizing that the usual routine (such as it is for our online learning school) is taking a pause and the resources and supports (and wifi and snacks) are paused while staff recharge (with the reminder that most educators are 10 month employees and are therefore not being paid for their ‘summers off’)

• The rhetoric of educators getting ‘time off’ – while I am not a fan of the current agrarian timetable, it is the backbone of contracts and not having to compensate educators (teachers, EAs, etc) who are not 12 month employees 

• Change in format… I usually like to deliver some hand-printed notes to staff as we conclude the year (often on the shiny scratch paper at the dollar store) but with such a mobile online staff, it is les consistent to deliver notes when people will/may be on site… so personalizing an email is being attempted this year (also much easier to read than my own script which my parents thought inspired WingDings font. 
• Summer learning loss… without practice… skills do not get any better… good habits fade
• Comparisons are made and show the vast differences of what families are able to do during the break-from-schools.
• Troubles with child care. I used to separate learning spaces and child care, but not so much after child care was added to the ministry of education – now I wonder what schools should maybe be doing over “breaks”…. And weekends…. And evenings – when many family members have work shifts…

Curious what your thoughts are on the break between shifting grade levels? Is this the optimal/apex/final form of this experiment we call schooling?