Half Term.
By kimthedane
@kimthedane (945)
Denmark
October 7, 2007 3:14am CST
Next week will be half term for the schools here in Denmark. This goes for ALL educational schools, high schools, colleges and universities. This holiday for the kids and young ones was introduced way back in last century before or under the 2nd world war. Only it was not a holiday back then. I believe it was introduced under one of the world wars and the purpose was to release this massive young workforce to help with the potato harvesting, which was the nerve to survival in those rouhg times.
Today its a holiday where the students work a little extra hours to earn some money for studying or those who can afford it wil go on holiday abroad, mainly in Europe to catch the last bit of the summer sun. Some may even use their holiday for studies or for visiting relatives. And then ofcourse thei is this one person living at my place, who will go hypernating in her room for 10 days. Quiet a change to hard work in the potato fields, eh?
How is it in your place? Du you have half term arround this time in your schools/countries? If yes, what is the history behind it? If no, then how is it instead? You have any other holidays/bankholidays/national holidays ect at this time?
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3 responses
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
10 Nov 07
Hello kim. Do you mean that the students can have some holidays on the halfway of the school term?
I hope that I can understand it well. If so, then all the schools in Hangzhou City, the capital city of Zhejiang Province started to have this kind of half-term holiday years ago. They have the half-term holiday twice a year during the spring and autumn school term for fifteen days except the summer and winter vacation.
Hangzhou City is the first city that advocates schools to have half-term holidays as many as fifteen days. Within my knowledge, there is no other city that has ever had this half-term holiday.
I think that it is good for the students to have a good rest from their tense and busy study.
Thanks for your response very much, dear kim.
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@kimthedane (945)
• Denmark
13 Nov 07
Yes Will, my friend. Students have a 10 day's holiday half way through their study in the autumn and they will have another 10 days in the spring. They will also, on top of National bank holidays, have 5 days at Easter and 4 days at Whitsun. So looks pretty much the same as in Hangzhou.
I don't know how to feel about this tho. It seems like they are of from School all the time and how can they learn something if they are never there?
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@williamjisir (22819)
• China
19 Nov 07
Hello dear friend kim. Thanks so much for the best response. I appreciate it very much. Have a good day.
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
11 Nov 07
In Canada we have reading week for the students. It is not until February or March. University starts in September, then there is a week around Christmas and then reading week. A lot of people take advantage of reading week by going to Florida and having a good time. Some actually catch up on their work and some just hibernate.
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@kimthedane (945)
• Denmark
13 Nov 07
Sounds more like my kind of thing Linda. They have been saying for years that kids do not learn enough in school. To solve this problem, the government have introduced all sorts of test's, educational as well as cognitive. This means that today's teachers spend more time on bureaucratic paperwork than on actual education.
When you add to that the fact that today they have 10 hrs less education a week than in my day's, and only go to school 5 days a week (we went Saturday too) and have 12 days a year more holiday, then it is easy to see, why our kids do not learn what one could expect.
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@student7 (1002)
• United States
11 Nov 07
We don't have a half term. Here in the U.S., students get Thanksgiving off. Thanksgiving is the last Thursday in November and they go to school Monday and Tuesday and get the rest of the week off.
Then in December, the students get like three weeks off for Christmas or in the U.S. the politically correct term, winter break.
It sounds like Mette is back?!? Well good luck and enjoy.
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@kimthedane (945)
• Denmark
13 Nov 07
Yeah, we have a 2 till 3 weeks winter break too here in DK, depending on how x-mas fall.
No Mette is not back, this discussion was posted over a month ago. The holiday I refer to in this discussion, is the one she decided not to come back. So thpogh she still has all her stuff here, she does not live with me any more :)
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