40 Weeks Until Summer Holidays!

As I sit here at my brave desk, I am keenly aware that it is approximately 40 school weeks till the summer holidays (that would be July, 2009, just in case you need help figuring it out). It is actually longer, but I am not counting the two weeks at Christmas and one week for Family Week in February. Oh, and don't forget Easter.

By the time you actually read this missive, it will be 39 weeks and counting.

Now, I am actually kidding you – not because my tally is out (which it's not) – but because I am not really counting the weeks till my next major holiday. That kicks in by mid-November, or, if you are a student, next week. If I am leering at my wall calendar with the longing look of lovestruck loser, then I am in the wrong profession.

But I am not in the wrong profession. In addition to the pleasure I get out of writing, I love to teach – whether it is in a classroom throughout the week or a pulpit (so-called) on a Sunday. If the students (whatever the context) want to learn, there is no greater pleasure.

However, if they (in the desk or the pew) do not want to learn, I would sincerely appreciate them heading to the nearest exit, with a one-way pass to Starbucks. Education is a privilege, and if they don't see it that way, they should move on to the next station in their life.

I should add that when I say 'education,' I certainly recognize that there is likely more learning that takes place outside a classroom than in one -- without books, and in subtle ways that we are not aware of. In that sense, we really don't ever stop learning – or at least we shouldn't.

And also, when I say 'school,' I do recognize the various packages, as it were, that schooling comes in these days. I have many friends who are committed teachers and administrators in the public system. The same could be said for the private or parochial system, often known as Christian schools; or if they are in a public system, alternate schools.

Then there is what seems to be known as the new-kid-on-the-block, in terms of education; namely, home education. If you know your history, then you will realize that home education is, in fact, actually the old-kid-on-the block: Learning, training, apprenticing at home has been around ever since Adam taught Abel how to raise sheep and Cain how to grow veggies. (Question: Was Adam "raising Cain" when he was raising Cain? Just wondering.)

That was followed hundreds of years later by private tutors, mostly for the rich -- both the religious and the irreligious -- which slowly but definitely morphed into what became church-run schools. It would be an interesting search on your part to discover the origins of Yale, Princeton, and Harvard. I think you would be shocked at their religious roots.

Only recently, and I speak of the last 100 years, has the notion of public, government-run schools become the norm for any civilized culture. The drive for taking kids out of the home and away from the church, into a setting that was age-segregated, taught by someone other than the parent or the priest, is actually a fairly modern notion.

The plausible option for teaching one's children at home is something I personally value. In my role as a home education supervisor, I am well aware of the hundreds of families throughout Alberta who are doing an outstanding job with their kids. It's a topic I would like to pursue in this space sometime.

So, it's back to school, whatever way you slice it; and it is great to have education choices, with the freedom to learn in so many different ways and styles. Support your local teacher in the coming year in whatever way you can -- even if she's your mother.

And to all you teachers out there: It's only about 300 sleeps till summer.