BY MICHAEL TUMWESGIGYE
Education systems across the world provide holidays during which schools are closed from study. In Uganda, every year, the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), releases an annual education calendar for Primary, Secondary, Technical/Farm schools and Community Polytechnics in which instructional time at school is alternated with school holiday breaks. The school calendar is divided into three terms selected as instructional days. For example, the academic calendar for 2022, school instructional time accounted for 42 weeks while school holiday time was 10 weeks. With increased pressure for schools to complete the syllabus early, there has been a heated debate considering whether school holiday breaks are still of any value to teachers and leaners.
This is our point of contention. The school holidays are normally not counted as instructional days. It is a time for learners to rest, to relax from the school time tabled and coordinated learning. Similarly, teachers get the opportunity to rest.
Although children and families look at holidays as a break from the usual routine and studies, there is emergent criticism that children do not spend enough time utilising their rest time but rather spend their holidays attending holiday coaching/tuition. For the children in Nursery schools, this is when they are again placed in private Day Care Centres as their parents go about their busy work schedules. Nonetheless, holiday breaks have been proven to be more beneficial to the learners and their family members if well utilised.
During the school holidays, it’s good to give chance to children to do activities they enjoy but under supervision where need be. Let them visit grandparents, relatives, do farming, play in rain, graze cows and play local games with other children. They can learn the art of cooking, stitching, crocheting, sewing, singing, dancing and where possible let them interact with elders who can teach them traditional dances, drama and their cultural heritage.
By allowing children to do what they want, for example, plucking off fruits from the trees and eating those fresh, raw and naturally ripened fruits, gives them a great experience. Unique holiday activities for children provide important formative experiences for learners. If well spent, school holidays aid in contributing to the communities’ well being, create room for parents to spend time with their children to bond and also create room for the teachers to spend time with their own families. Therefore, school holiday breaks allow both learners and teachers to avoid burn out and strengthen family relationships.
It should be noted that education is intellectually demanding for both learners and teachers: teaching and learning process requires attention, concentration and focus which are quite demanding and sometimes boring. Therefore, school holiday break is a tool for both teachers and learners to regenerate. Unfortunately, today, school holidays are spent passively; children are at home, watching TVs or playing computer games. Moreover, housemaids have quite often taken over roles of parents even during the school holidays. In fact, in some instances, children are safer at school than at home.
Apart from restoring learner’s attention, concentration and focus, a school holiday creates room for children to play, and interact with siblings at home and peers from other schools. They regularly compare the different educational experiences; which interface has integral educational value that no teacher can provide to the learners. Spending time with friends can be beneficial as they form connections, build their network, gain knowledge and practice social skills which help them to overcome fear, anxiety and physical stress.
Holiday breaks create room for family time together, more especially for those children attending boarding schools. Children get the opportunity to learn about their family or individual history. It’s during such time that children learn things not taught in school. Children are mentored, inspired and coached about very important life skills. As the saying goes that “charity begins at home”, it’s time for parents to transmit faith, values and important virtues that schools may not easily offer to the learners. Compassion, love, care, honesty among others are very important virtues for a flourishing society and the role of families in nurturing children cannot be underestimated.
Holiday breaks have proven to be highly beneficial for student’s mental health and wellness since they allow spare time for relaxing or doing various activities of personal choice. If properly managed, school breaks give students time from chaotic school schedules. They present health benefits to learners for example, it reduces stress, enhance creativity and emotional stability, confidence and intelligence for learners. School holidays are very important part of a learner’s life that gives a learner break from the academic stress and make them to learn new things. However, the fact that children have time off from school doesn’t mean parents do.
Many parents do not have the same time off as their children, causing added expense with babysitting or daycare. Instead of being at school, children are shifted to another home or institution. This sometimes makes school holiday worthless. However, it’s important to note that education without school holidays makes it meaningless. As the Chinese saying goes that “to rest is to prepare for a longer journey,” learners need to recharge their mental statuses during the holiday so that they can start the new term stronger and with more drive.
