School's Out for ... Spring?

By: Kajsa Sabatke, Interpretive Programs Coordinator Many students today think of March as the time for spring break - a week or two away from school before they head back to class until May or June. Rural schoolchildren in the 1840s left school in March for a two-month break. Think this schedule is better than the one we have now? Not necessarily, especially for children who like their summer vacation. School let out in March, but it began again in May. Instead of a long vacation, students spent the spring working on their family farms and then went back to school for the summer. Farmers needed their children to help them during the busy farming seasons of spring (for planting) and fall (for harvesting). So the school year was broken into two terms. Winter term lasted from October or November until March, and summer term ran from May until sometime in late August or early September. Now that fewer people are farmers, the school schedule does not depend on the agricultural seasons (although students in Maine still get time off for the potato harvest). Instead, students get a few breaks during the year and a long summer vacation. *This blog post contains a clue for Getting Ready for Spring on April 4. Stay tuned for more posts on this event!