Bank Holidays are Too Centered around Teachers (and politicians)

Markus Antonius

We are now in the longest period in the year without having a Bank Holiday with the last one being August 4th and the next one being the end of October. That is two whole months without a bank holiday. Look at this:

https://www.hogansirishcottages.com/blog/bank-holidays-ireland/

Made me question why this is and the only thing I can think of is if the Government introduced one for July or September, the teachers would blow a gasket! Extra proof is that there is a bank holiday literally every month from January until June when the schools finish up…

Listen up Government! Give us a bank holiday in July and/or September for the love of God!!

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058366533/bank-holidays-are-too-centered-around-teachers-and-politicians

There's one in August, December and January when the teachers and TDs are on holidays.

What was your point again?

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551010#Comment_122551010

Feck ye anyway. I was about to say that.

ancapailldorcha

Bank Holidays are Bank holidays. Here in the UK, we've three outside of Christmas and Easter. Be grateful.

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551010#Comment_122551010

Ah, the token snarky first response!

My point is very clear, we literally now have two bank holidays within two weeks (taking 2024 as one example) but are now in a period of two months without one at all! Everyone knows, that if there was a bank holiday introduced in September or early October, the Teachers would explode!!!

Kurooi

We should chill it with the bank holidays and instead mandate a higher mandatory minimum AL. 25 days should be standard.

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551031#Comment_122551031

Why would the teachers explode? They'd be getting an extra day off.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551031#Comment_122551031

I'm not sure what your point is

You seem to think that having them when the teachers are at work is for their benefit; yet also that they'd be against having them when they're at work.

Can you figure out the inconsistencies in your own argument first before trying it out on us?

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551041#Comment_122551041

Because they've just been off for the whole summer…

nachouser

Don't be such a Teacherist, OP. They're people too, you know.

Smee_Again

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551031#Comment_122551031

Why? If there was a Public Holiday in September or October the teachers would get the day off too.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551055#Comment_122551055

And you claim for why they'd be opposed to one in July is?

You don't have a coherent argument here.

Boggles

Jesus, Epic thread fail of the month.

Smee_Again

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551055#Comment_122551055

You think teachers would be upset at an extra day off because they've just gone back to work?

Have you ever met a teacher? Or any other worker for that matter?

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551055#Comment_122551055

So you're saying they would be happy?

J.O. Farmer

Do most people not take annual leave over the summer anyway?

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551064#Comment_122551064

Because they are already off for the summer. It's no good to them. What exactly is so incoherent about this. Why am I even taking the time to explain this to you.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551088#Comment_122551088

But why would they not want a September one then?

RGARDINR

I always find July a long month for not having a bank holiday, if we could have one then be great or maybe every leap year we get an extra bank holiday then and let's say in July that year if the government says they can't afford to have an extra one least then it's every 4 years and not every year, could be known as the leap year bank holiday. Least people get the benefit of it at least once every 4 years.

endacl

To add, schools are mandated to open for a specified number of days each year. If there were more bank holidays to ‘suit teachers’, they still wouldn’t work less. The only calendar benefit is the leap year day every 4 years. This amounts to an extra 8.75 days off over the course of a working career for the average teacher.

Random sample

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551076#Comment_122551076

Not happy, per se, but we’d suffer on.

geographica

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058366533/bank-holidays-are-too-centered-around-teachers-and-politicians

There are only two bank holidays in Ireland, Good Friday and the day after Stephens day at Christmas

all the others are public holidays

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551318#Comment_122551318

😂.

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551088#Comment_122551088

"I've already been off for weeks, why would I want an extra day off now?" said absolutely nobody ever.

You're not making much sense, here, I'm afraid. You're just positing your opinions as facts and not backing them up with anything, which is par for the course with you, unfortunately.

Why is it no good to them?

Why wouldn't they want a day off?

If you were off for three or four weeks and came back, just before a bank holiday, would you insist on working it anyway because "it's no god to you"?…..would you fcuk

If all of space travel is faked, like you have claimed multiple times, and there's no such thing as satellites, how do you think GPS works?

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551350#Comment_122551350

GPS works because there are server farms filled with teachers positioned strategically all over the globe

These teachers are in constant communication with all.the other teachers positioned across the globe in schools....

Everyone who isn't a teacher has a unique identification code visible only to teachers ...

The teachers out in the community constantly update the whereabouts of all the non teachers to the server farm teachers and they make this data available to the mobile network via cabling, radio waves what have you

That's why you'll never see a teacher use GPS themselves....they'll always ask you for position related data for the lols

Down there for dancing!

Grayson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058366533/bank-holidays-are-too-centered-around-teachers-and-politicians

Here in Germany there were 4 public holidays in May and none until October.

J.O. Farmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551323#Comment_122551323

Are all public holidays not also bank holidays.

You are correct Good Friday is a bank holiday but not a public holiday. However st. Stephens day is a public holiday.

Floppybits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551031#Comment_122551031

Why would teachers explode? Bank holidays in the past were usually around church holy days more than anything else, halloween, Easter, christmas/new year and St Patricks day. Sure even the new one they introduced in February is around St Bridgets day

Peregrinus

The pattern of public holidays in most countries is that they are concentrated in times of the year when people aren't likely to be taking annual leave anyway — i.e. there's not a lot in the summer. The whole idea is to give workers a break at a time when they wouldn't otherwise get one.

This isn't an inflexible rule, since there can be historical or cultural factors that influence decisions about which days will be public holidays — the US Declaration of Independence was signed on 4 July; what are you gonna do? — but it is a very signficant influence.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122551040#Comment_122551040

I used to love having a job where I worked bank holidays. 30 days annual leave to use whenever I want instead of being told I have to take certain ones.

We should up bank holidays to 13 and that way have 1 a month.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553330#Comment_122553330

I worked somewhere with a very old fashioned contract and had 30 days and public holidays and Good Friday and the gap between Christmas and New Year. Private sector.

New contracts for staff hired after the first redundancies had the bare minimum 20.

I generally took most of December off as I'd find it hard to use 30 by then!

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553425#Comment_122553425

That's mad. The most I ever had above statutory was 2 days.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553441#Comment_122553441

May be industry dependent, but 24 is the lowest I've had and in both cases, was raised to 25 while I worked there - company-wide, not personal - due to it being an issue when hiring staff. Everywhere else has been 25 or higher.

The 30+4 is still an outlier.

Blind As A Bat

What are you on about, OP?? Public holidays in Ireland originate mostly either from pagan or Christian festivals and weren't designed for the benefit of teachers and politicians.

The summer ones used to be Whitsun/Pentecost Monday and the August one was the feast of the Assumption if I remember correctly. It used to be celebrated on the actual day but at some point it was moved to make it a long weekend.

The May Bank Holiday is the international workers' holiday, nothing to do with teachers. Hallowe'en is the ancient festival of Samhain.

Funnily enough, as a teacher myself, I wouldn't want a holiday in September as the kids are only back at school and it's hard enough to get them settled in and back into the swing of work(or with Junior Infants get them used to school, some of them suffer a lot of separation anxiety during the first few weeks). We all need that two full months to get a good start on the school year.

ethical

Is it any wonders our teachers are leaving in droves when even a non teacher related post gives them grief!

I think Ireland has less Public Holidays than most of our European Union counterparts.

And of course it does not make any difference as to when a Public Holiday falls,be you a teacher or in some other employment,you can avail of it either on the day it falls due or on another day of your choice should your category of employment not be able to avail of it on the day it falls.

On another (related) point with schools returning now on the 20th August regularly, it is quite a long run until 31st October without a break for students or indeed teachers alike. A look across the pond at how the UK system works,from a schools point of view,could teach a valuable lesson! UK schools take a Mid Term after about every 6-7 weeks,which gives a freshness to teacher and student alike……….and when a Public Holiday arrives,they take it,whereas the Irish system does not seem to be capable/able to take a Public Holiday unless its tied in with a Mid Term. The UK system makes more sense, Do the 6-7 weeks,take a Mid Term, and then take the Public Holiday when it arrives.Its not rocket science but 'change' seems to be difficult for the Dept,Of Education in in Ireland.( doing it this way would alleviate all the 'crap',poor discipline,lethargy, etc that manifests itself in our schools,after a 11 or 12 week continuous stint that occurs on the 1st term every year leading up to Hallowe'en……….but sure it would make too much sense to change it. After all do we really give a care about the students…..they will be emigrating soon enough,in any case! ( and do not mention the teachers,sure we hate them anyways!)

creedp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553743#Comment_122553743

Are you advocating moving to the uK school summer holiday break as well?

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553621#Comment_122553621

There are feast days every month of the year but they don't all have bank holidays. It's ultimately the government (and church in the past) who picked which ones should have day offs.

Your comment about not wanting one in September due to getting the kids "settle in" is exactly my point. Most workers don't have the entire summer off, thus heading into darker evenings, more traffic on the roads etc, we could really do with a bank holiday to bridge that gap between august and october…

ethical

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553828#Comment_122553828

The holidays may be a little shorter,as regards the summer break in the UK,(its around 6-7 weeks).

As a parent its a fallacy to regard the Irish school holidays as 3 months,namely June ,July & August.It may have been like this 20-30 years ago but nowadays,its realistically mid June to Mid August….and throw in the 'summer weather' we've had this year and it feels like 6 months with damn all to do and places to go because of the weather!

Having a week off after 6-7 weeks of schoolwork and then 8 weeks in the summer is doable and more healthy but Norma and her Dept do not listen to parents.They don't even listen to teachers nevermind!…..and take the Public Holidays as they fall!

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553743#Comment_122553743

Hmmm I dont think I disagree with some of this but

I'd really question if it would improve discipline.....clear uniformly enforced consequences for continuous disruption might have more of an effect...not continually ignoring and not even entertaining a discussion on the issue and brushing under the carpet and leaving teachers and management to sink or swim with zero support in some instances..

Is discipline better in the UK system and if so is that because of the way they structure the time on/off is a question I'd ask....

Tbh it appears to me there's been a rush to ape what I think is a failed UK system over here (judging by the amount of uk related personnel hawking their wares over here) so I'd be loathe to transfer any more of their bullshit into our system...not that I'm making the decisions mind you

There is a reason large numbers of teachers only stay in teaching in the UK for short periods of time (with all the problems that creates for the students too etc)...a lot see it as a stepping stone over there ....that's if they don't decide to steer well clear of it in the first place.

geographica

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553232#Comment_122553232

I said the day after Stephens day didn’t I

creedp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122554900#Comment_122554900

Given that schools are supposed to have standardised years it's surprising the variation between schools if thats the case. My local primary school broke up on 22 June and returned 28 Aug, so a smidgeon over 8 weeks while the secondary school broke up last week of May and returned 27 Aug so a full 3 months.

No real issue, even though this results in Ireland having one of the longest summer breaks in Europe, so long as there is sufficient time to properly cover the curriculum. However, it was pretty obvious that the mock junior cert was held too early as my young lad wasn't able to answer some of the questions because they had yet to be covered in class. To my mind the mocks are aptly named and no wonder many student don't them seriously.

However the ridiculous number of free classes happening throughout the year may well have contributed to this problem. The worst excuse I heard for almost a week of maths free classes was that the junior cert maths teacher had to escort the TY students on one of their jollies. A quite extraordinary 2 fingers to a state exam year class. I wouldn't be so quick to ridicule other jurisdictions educatuon systems at this stage.

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058366533/bank-holidays-are-too-centered-around-teachers-and-politicians

”the only thing I can think of” is not “extra proof”.

Charlo30

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122554085#Comment_122554085

If you want to bridge the gap between August & October, there is always the option to take a days leave or uncertified sick day

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122553441#Comment_122553441

I currently have 28, and all bank holidays and I can work up an extra 12 via flexi.

Shamefully, the school year was made even shorter with the new February bank holiday. Teachers get that BH and then a full week after that again for midterm. They're careful not to take the midterm the same week as the BH. Crowd of charlatans who faux concern for children's education is just a guise to further their own wants.

Elliejo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122559994#Comment_122559994

The dates of the February mid-term, together with the October mid-term, Christmas holidays and Easter holidays are decided by the Department of Education and schools have no say in them.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122560104#Comment_122560104

So if the Dept decided to move the February mid-term to the same week as the Bank Holiday, there's be no objections raised by teachers then? It was just another shameful example of cowardice from the Government towards unions.

Elliejo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122560122#Comment_122560122

I'm sure that would be fine - but then you would be complaining that the schools were off too soon after the Christmas holidays. With you there would be no pleasing as you are so anti-teacher, anti-public service etc.

Kermit.de.frog

Wouldn't we all be wealthier, healthier and happier without bank holidays? Think of the productivity gains.

downthemiddle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122560122#Comment_122560122

It would be irrelevant to the teachers. They still have to work a certain number of days every year.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122560322#Comment_122560322

The number of days they worked was reduced by the Bank Holiday. Do they not get enough holidays without shortening the school year even more?