Things can only get . . .

We have been back a week and a day and already the length of time before another holiday is beginning to oppress our hearts and minds.

At least today has been a time when I have read (re-read) Susan Hill’s “I’m the King of the Castle” a bleak book which I am going to have to teach to an unreceptive 3ESO class – I am not sure that I am looking forward to that but it will at least be playing to one of my strengths and is Literature and not the hated Grammar and all its evil tentacles of incomprehension!

I think that January must be the low point in the school year (though I am aware that we have not got into February yet) when spirits are low because of the fact that we are only a third of the way through the year.  Though with Easter being so late this year the summer term will be encouragingly short.

When are we in education going to recognize the absurd tyranny of the mystical date of Easter in determining the length of an academic term?  I really see no problem about disassociating the date of Easter with the organization of more equitable terms.

The only “problem” is Good Friday, which is a Bank Holiday and could remain so.  Easter Day is always on a Sunday so there is no problem with that.  The religious observation of Holy Week could be accomplished by worship before or after normal working hours.  And perhaps regularizing the dates of the “Spring” Holiday could also see a move to a four-term year.  Most European states are not theocracies and we should not let ourselves be dictated to by the dates of absurd Christian festive days that in turn were hijacked from pagan originals!

If Christians could be pragmatic in the placement of their major religious festival, where the one certainty about their choice of dates was that the event commemorated did not happen on that particular day, then I see no reason why we should abide by their arbitrary dates to the detriment of normality.

Tomorrow we are back on the examination treadmill and I get to loose some free periods to get the exercise done.  I am sure it is good for the soul because it is no bloody use for anything else.