Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1923-11-23
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

} !
in the minds of many as to jus
? which days are school holidays. Bot
students and patrons find difficult
in keeping clear on the matter. Thi
is natural because of two reasons
| The first is that days which wer
formerly school holidays have bee
: discontinued as such by state law
Washington birthday was a schoo
holiday in our state until discontin
ued by the Idaho legislature of 1921
The second reason is that some day
are holidays for some purposes bu
not for school purposes. Banks anC
public offices are sometimes closed
when schools have no right to be- Tn,
latest school law on the matter OF
school holidays is as follows:
Section 491s. School holidays
That New Years Day, Memorial Day,
Independence Day, Thanksgiving
Day and Christmas Day shall be
school holidays. That the other days
designated as holidays as provided
for in section $3.50 Idaho Compiled
Statutes, or amendments thereto, if
the same shall fall on school day,
be observed with appropriate exer-
cises. That such other days as the
State Board of Education may desig-
nate, following proclamation of the
af To- n oh
holidays.
1t will be noticed that there are
,nly five school holidays unless others
are designated as such by the State
Board of Education following a proc
lamation by the Governor. Some
times the Governor proclaims a day
a holiday for general purposes. These
days are not holidays for school pur-
poses until the State Board of Edu-
cation designates them as such. This
has not been done in recent years.
Our Governor proclaimed Labor Day
and Armistice Day holidays but the
State Board of Education did not see
fit to make them school holidays.
Where they were observed by dis
missing school the action was taken
by local school boards without the
support of our laws on the matter.
The purpose of the Idaho law
seems to be to have some of our i'm
portant days of a patriotic nature
observed by appropriate exercises
explaining the real meaning of these
days in a real educational way. This
may be done by literary programs
on or near to the day to be OBJ
served The best and most efficient
manner to make the student under
stand these days is by class discus
sions or written papers in connec-
ton with language, reading or his
tory work. We have followed this
plan as far as practical here. Any
holiday will mean more to a student
t observed in this way than it will
f school is dismissed and little at
ention called to the significance of
he day in our history. Holidays
ire too much thought of as days
when older people get out of work
md students get out Of school. We
10 not want to educate our younger
to get more of this spirit
because there is too much of it both
mong the young and among adults.
Some of our students and patrons I
ave felt that we should have dis !
Missed for both Labor Day and
Armistice Day, From the above /
tate law on the matter it will be |
cen that neither was a school holt ,
ay for school purposes unless made g,
, by our governor and State Board 1
Education. The latter body did r
OF see fit to do this. The policy
our local school has been to give
he best service possible for our out
~ of time and money. Our school .
Oard has very kindly given us :
beral amount of time for Thanks :
wing and Christmas vacations. =
ome have thought we should have
longer period at Christmas time. .
he longer the time taken out at .,
lis time the later school will close 7,
ext sumner. Every year students Il
Id parents ask to discontinue school =,
ork several weeks before school is
It in order to move to ranches. J.,
'metimes they want promotion as :
ual. Entering school late and leav- "
g early often causes failure and !.
e necessity of repeating. We be- -
we that we can best serve by fin l.
ling school work early in the sum- .,
" even if we do have to make our =.
cations short in the school year e.
Superintendent.