To the Editor:

I am writing in response to the March 1, 2020, letter defending the February school break (“Kids, teachers, counselors need February break to recharge”). I would like to offer a different perspective.

Although the author states he did not wish to disparage other occupations, the entire letter is a lengthy dissertation explaining why our hard-working, stressed, overachieving, under-appreciated and jack-of-all-trade teachers deserve another week off in February. I am not aware of any other profession that has so many breaks in the work year.

The writer provided a detailed description of all of the challenges faced by teachers dealing with children and their problems. I believe it is important to note that these children grow up to be adults with those same, if not more intense, issues. These issues then impact the lives of their significant others, their children, their co-workers and the rest of society. Many, many people are charged with addressing those very issues, including all those employed in the various fields of law enforcement, the medical profession, the mental health profession, the retail industry, social workers, daycare workers, landlords, dog walkers, etc, I am sure you can see widespread effects on the community. And, to the best of my knowledge, none of these workers are given a “February break.”

Furthermore, most working people I know need to be “on,” as do the teachers defended in that letter. I am sure that on some days, it is a monumental challenge. Other professionals also work above and beyond 9-to-5 — nurses remaining on the job to complete medical records, doctors facing emergency crisis, police responsible for paperwork long after a suspect is apprehended, counselors addressing the suicidal client, waitresses cleaning up long after the restaurant closes, emergency response personnel on the scene of an accident. I am sure people could relate a hundred other examples from their own experiences. Teachers are not the only ones working above and beyond their call of duty.

The writer also notes the challenges presented to teachers by smartphones and social media. I believe every member of the working public has been affected by these challenges. Social media has replaced the old fashioned “water cooler,” the place where workers expressed their concerns about their peers’ behavior, bullying, workplace and sexual harassment and all the other pressures of adulthood. Children are not the only class of people that present asocial behavior in the workplace.

Finally, these lowly working people sometimes have family at home to raise, a responsibility they signed on for when they became parents. It is my belief that the majority of American parents do not rely on school to take care of their children so they can work. Perhaps this is a misconception perpetuated by teachers in an effort to justify their “February break.” After all, isn’t summer vacation supposed to be the much needed respite when a kid gets to be “just a kid”?

Mary Goudy-Carbery

Manlius

Related:

Why do schools take February break? We can do without the quality time (Editorial)

Kids, teachers, counselors need February break to recharge (Your letters)

School employees get more time off, perks than the rest of us (Your letters)