Every year, students are released a week before Christmas for winter break and return to school a few days after New Year’s Day. The break acts as a divider between semesters and allows students to celebrate the holidays with family and go on vacation. This two week period always feels short, and if students were allowed another two weeks off, the break would feel like an actual vacation.
A winter break would be more beneficial if students took exams the week after Thanksgiving and then were released for break before the month of December began. The extra two weeks could be made up by starting school a week earlier in August and finishing school a week later in June. This would only shorten the first semester by one week and make the second semester a week longer. If this was the new system, few would notice the extended school year, but many people would notice the extra time off for the holidays.
With more time over the winter break, students and their families would have more options for how to spend their holiday, and there would be more time to rest for the upcoming semester.
For the holidays, many students travel to see family in other cities or states. With an extended break, there would be more travel time and more time to spend with relatives. With the current break, it can be hard to balance family time, hanging out with friends, and opportunities to rest.
If students had an entire month off in the winter, there would also be a better opportunity to maintain a job and put in extra hours. Holiday schedules often allow for more hours, and students would be able to take advantage of the extra income.
The last reason winter break should be longer is because of the weather. The cold weather is perfect for staying inside and watching movies, or doing more activities with family. There is a general mood when it is cold and it is to be lazy and drink hot chocolate; no one wants to go to school when they could be at home relaxing and doing things to enjoy their time away from the stress that school brings.
