... a whole three weeks til the next holiday - how will I survive?
I made it through the long weekend with surprisingly little boredom and felt a lot more refreshed today than I usually do on a Monday. However, the real benefit isn't mine. To all those who resent the holidays teachers get (which we still have mountains of work to do during - I have to point out), I would ask them to remember it isn't for the benefit of the staff. coming up to a holiday, even a long weekend, the pupils are tired, lethargic, unmotivated and more prone to temperamental outbursts. 
After an extra two days off they return refreshed and ready to get back to it. Their moods and their productivity is highly improved. 
Another complaint is often childcare. At the risk of sounding critical - school holidays have NOT increased. The 8 - 10 week summer holiday has been spread throughout the year for two reasons, resulting in 5 - 6 weeks at summer. The first is that pupils work better if they have periodic rests - which generally coincide with public holidays which many adults get or are recompensed for. Secondly, parents demanded the shift when women increasingly moved away from the home and into the workplace - stating it was easier to find childcare for a day here and there than something for 8 weeks solid.
Anyway, rant over. I am refreshed and so are my classes. I did a lot of work and a lot of thinking over the weekend and am using these to try to improve my teaching and my learning. So nyah nyah to those working. 
