I received a text from a teaching friend in Germany who is on Herbstferien (Autumn break) for the next two weeks. She had been spending time walking in the woods, at a day retreat and then had plans to be with her family after a busy start-up to the new school year.

This one text made me long for the year round schooling schedule for my colleagues working in the campus school system in British Columbia.

Did you know that in most countries in Europe, they have year round schooling, where they shorten the summer to 4-6 weeks and then take more holidays throughout the year?

Autumn break – 2 weeks in October

Ski weeks – 2 weeks in February

Easter holiday – 2 weeks around Easter in late March or April

And oh yes, the usual 2 weeks off for Christmas.

When I taught in Germany and Switzerland, we never went longer than 6-7 weeks of teaching in a row throughout the ENTIRE year.

Did you also know that there were no substitute teachers to phone in to work in your class when you were sick or away? If you “had to” be away, the teacher next door would not only continue to teach their class, but also would cover for you and teacher your class. One thing to note in this scenario is that our “Director” was a businessman, not an educator, so you couldn’t expect them to come and help out in your classroom. This perspective definitely made you aware that you needed to come back from your holidays rested for the next 6-7 weeks of teaching.

The most beautiful thing with this school schedule and the lack of a substitute teacher pool is that overall the teachers, and children, were healthier. These chunks of learning also made for a well-defined learning schedule that helped with planning units.

A season of hard work and then a few weeks of rest. A season for all things!

Have a wonderful Sunday rest day folks and love what you do!

xoxo Joanna