Dec. 17, 2022
By Sean Disbrow
Staff Writer
Every year between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, students have a week off of school. Students greet this time with great joy and anticipation, but the problem is that this break is not long enough. Rather than returning to school on Jan. 2, the break should be extended by about a week.
Christmas and New Year’s are among the most celebrated holidays of the year, and many students and their families use this time to go on vacation. With a longer break, vacations would be easier to plan and more could be done during the vacation.
If an extra week were added to the holiday break, Students would return to school on Jan. 9. This would be good because traveling is expensive before the new year. The Washington Post reports that, on average, traveling for Christmas costs $574, which is 52% higher than it was in 2021 and 50% higher than in 2019.
Furthermore, since the Covid-19 pandemic started, quarantining after a vacation became more common. With an extra week off, students who return home prior to the end of the break could use the time to quarantine so that way when school starts back up they won’t have to miss any days. RSV and the flu are also going around right now and having that extra week off would help slow down the spread.
Relaxation is necessary because it can calm a person’s mind and help them deal with everyday stress.
Winter officially begins on Dec. 21. Therefore, one can expect harsh weather like low temperatures, heavy winds and snow. Most people would like to stay indoors in bad weather, and it would be better for students not to have to walk or drive to school. The average temperature in Northern New Jersey and New York City in January is 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit. In cold temperatures like that, it is nice to stay warm and cozy at home.
Another reason why an extended break would be a good idea is so that students can take some time to catch up on any work or projects their teachers have assigned. Particularly students who are taking difficult classes can expect to have projects and other large assignments to complete, so break should be lengthened so they have time to relax and finish their work. Relaxation is necessary because it can calm a person’s mind and help them deal with everyday stress.
Teachers can use the extra time during the break as well, as they typically have assignments to grade. If they have a few extra days over the break to grade, when they return to school, they will be all caught up on grading. They can also use some of this time to prepare assignments for when school starts back up, which will lead to more interesting and engaging lessons for students.
Finally, some students who have jobs struggle to balance their employment with schoolwork because they don’t have a lot of time to finish homework and study for quizzes and tests. During a longer break, students wouldn’t have to worry about balancing these responsibilities. Particularly because students can pick up some extra hours on their shift, they can bring home a larger paycheck.
The holidays are a busy time of year, so having an extra week off would be both a nice and necessary change to the school calendar.
