Meldrew mode
Okay you’re going to call me a grumpy old ******* but here goes anyway.
Yesterday evening we flew from Newcastle to Girona; on a rough head count as many as 20% of the passengers were children of school age, holiday bound. It may be they were all going on five day breaks and will be back when the English schools reopen on Monday, but forgive me if I doubt that. Yes, I know that holidays are more expensive in July and August than in June and September, but parents are legally obliged to present their kids at school during term-time and, I would suggest, morally bound also.
I would suggest that UK-wide education authorities should station observers at all airports, because for too many people, when it comes to a choice between sunshine and education, stupidity rules.
My grandchildren still have another week off school. Could be that these kids are going away for a week…………
As I said, maybe they were only going for five days, all of them, to be back in time for the North-east schools opening on Monday. And then again, maybe not.
There are reasons to be sympathetic, but education is of paramount importance and the law is the law. The market sets the holiday prices, so how about tailoring the school year to fit?
Yes, stupidity rules. Back in the day, to use a clichéd old man’s term, there were truant catchers and it wasn’t about holidays because there weren’t any. If you were ill for more than three or four days and didn’t turn up for school or if you changed schools without informing the relevant authorities, a “person” would knock on the door to find out what/why/where. If education is of paramount importance and I’m convinced that it is, we must not “tailor” the school year to fit a market whim, which may very well change in the near future. You go to school, of course you do, in Europe, whereas in much of the world you can’t and in some places you get killed trying. Education used to be a given in the West and now it seems to have become a privilege. Beats me, I never took my kids out of school because I wanted to see a palm tree and I’m astounded to see that many, many people think it’s relatively unimportant. If you have children you sign up for the terms/holidays, etc. and get on with it, looking back it’s amazingly short and you wonder what all the fuss was about.
I agree that the children should not be kept off school – and the start of the new school term is even more important than any other time. But they could be at private schools who start later or, of course, could be returning home to Spain to school, whether they be English or Spanish.
Not sure why on this occasion the posting came from hubby and myself and, although I know he would agree with me on this, it was actually my posting now done through my Facebook login.
Of course they could, but in this case they were not. Trust me, there was not a single Etonian on that aircraft.