2008 Woodie Awards
Are we hitting the breaks too late?
Andrea Arriaga
Issue date: 3/27/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
This time last year students were making plans for the St. Patty's day celebration they would be attending on their spring break. This year, it will be a nearly a month after St. Patrick's day before students will be able to enjoy the much needed time off from classes. Spring break now begins April 7-13.
With the good weather, April is arguably a better month to have some school vacation, but a break is probably more effective in the middle of the semester.
However despite the large gap between winter break and spring break, students seem to be rather unaffected by the shift.
"Eh. I don't really care," says Nathaniel Box, a second year student. "Being a devout Christian, its nice to be on break during Easter, and be able to spend time with my brothers who are still in grade school."
In fact the break will coincide with Lorain City School's spring break. This may be a help to the early college students who won't have separate breaks for each school. And, it will certainly help LCCC students who also have children enrolled in Lorain city schools.
"A large percentage of our students are parents," said Rodger Campbell, director of student life, when asked about his knowledge about this year's break. "And some of them are single parents." Having breaks together would certainly make arrangements easier for families.
One set back might be for students bordering on a failing grade. The date to withdrawal from a course to receive a "w" for the semester is April 6. So if a student wished to withdrawal from a course, pending the outcome of some graded work, it might not be possible.
The other people really affected by the shift, are the teachers. A later break will mean having less time to cover material for finals. With the semester winding down, all the assignments crammed in after break will be expected to have been graded and recorded before the final deadline.
But it seems that the school is just trying something new. After speaking with Thalia Fountain, the Interm director, enrollment services, I learned that this was the "pilot year" for aligning the school's breaks, and that "whether or not this will be the same next year, has yet to be determined."
After this semester LCCC administrtion will decide if the move was effective.
With the good weather, April is arguably a better month to have some school vacation, but a break is probably more effective in the middle of the semester.
However despite the large gap between winter break and spring break, students seem to be rather unaffected by the shift.
"Eh. I don't really care," says Nathaniel Box, a second year student. "Being a devout Christian, its nice to be on break during Easter, and be able to spend time with my brothers who are still in grade school."
In fact the break will coincide with Lorain City School's spring break. This may be a help to the early college students who won't have separate breaks for each school. And, it will certainly help LCCC students who also have children enrolled in Lorain city schools.
"A large percentage of our students are parents," said Rodger Campbell, director of student life, when asked about his knowledge about this year's break. "And some of them are single parents." Having breaks together would certainly make arrangements easier for families.
One set back might be for students bordering on a failing grade. The date to withdrawal from a course to receive a "w" for the semester is April 6. So if a student wished to withdrawal from a course, pending the outcome of some graded work, it might not be possible.
The other people really affected by the shift, are the teachers. A later break will mean having less time to cover material for finals. With the semester winding down, all the assignments crammed in after break will be expected to have been graded and recorded before the final deadline.
But it seems that the school is just trying something new. After speaking with Thalia Fountain, the Interm director, enrollment services, I learned that this was the "pilot year" for aligning the school's breaks, and that "whether or not this will be the same next year, has yet to be determined."
After this semester LCCC administrtion will decide if the move was effective.
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