So many people in the US have an absolutely ridiculous idea of how big of a car they want to drive. Friends with two kids urgently "need" a 3 row SUV, the number of massive trucks is insane, etc. I'm not suggesting everyone should drive a Smartcar, but the cultural identity thing of wide open spaces is very apparent in average vehicle size, to the extent that I bet a lot of people will read this and think they agree while themselves driving cars that in most other countries are seen as massive.
Yes! I think the "need" for a big car once you have kids is so overblown. I drive a Honda Civic, and my 5'11" partner can very comfortably fit in the passenger seat in front of the car seat. There will be no need to get a larger car even with two car seats back there. Our not that compact stroller fits just fine in the trunk. I also live in New England and my car does just fine in winter conditions (the other reason I've seen as a "need" for an SUV). I'm sure there are situations where some families truly need a 3rd row vehicle, but I'm pretty sure that's not the case for the majority of people driving SUVs. If you're not driving 5+ people on a daily basis, you probably could be driving a smaller car.
Oh yes, there’s no reason for fall or winter break. And the end of semester break in December only needs to be 10 days long. The US school year calendar needs to be completely revamped.
TBF many fall breaks are to accommodate the Jewish high holidays.
I fully support excused absences for any religious holidays and no testing during that time. But public schools do not need more breaks than a typical working parent has vacation time to accommodate. We had THREE WEEKS off in December. That’s insane.
I also judged people driving suvs while I smugly drove my little hybrid car hardly ever buying gasoline, then we got a second dog and now I have two kids but also two Bernese mountain dogs so I drive a highlander. Cliche
I still have a 1200 square foot house with only one bathroom though!
TBF many fall breaks are to accommodate the Jewish high holidays.
I fully support excused absences for any religious holidays and no testing during that time. But public schools do not need more breaks than a typical working parent has vacation time to accommodate. We had THREE WEEKS off in December. That’s insane.
In my area we only have basically between Christmas and New Years and then the week (and maybe an extra day or two) before Easter. Then a lot of random single days off throughout the year. It stinks only being able to plan travel during the busiest weeks of the year or summer.
So I'd love year-round school but with more breaks and more flexibility.
Post by Patsy Baloney on Jul 25, 2023 10:11:54 GMT -5
Work should have the same breaks as school, not fewer breaks for school.
I’m sure all of the, “we should go to school more,” posts are from people who like their school system and don’t spend all their time fighting with it and dealing with their kids’ trauma being a part of it. Or maybe they really like work and want to be able to be there with fewer barriers.
The less school and work the better, as far as I’m concerned.
You don’t need more than a backpack’s worth of stuff for most 7-10 day vacations.
My haircare products alone barely fit in a backpack.
I think this theory works best if you are small and your clothes are lightweight. I can pack twice as many sundresses, swimsuits, sandals and pajamas as I need for an 8 day trip in about 1/3 of the space as the same amount of basic clothing for my 6'4, 3XT husband with enormous feet and a CPAP machine.
I am obsessed with Cape May and was there last week in a hotel! My issue has nothing to do with the shore itself. It’s the WORK. The packing (sheets, towels, now pillows and blankets), having to buy necessities like oil, ketchup, mustard, spices etc.) just for a week, the fighting for about 4 good restaurants (not an issue in C M bc there are tons of good places), the jam-packed beaches, the cleaning before you leave …
I still go but I like to be taken care of. Renting a house is WORK.
Sharing a house with multiple households who all work their own way is so challenging.
Cleaning up the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher and what is acceptable TV are the inevitable fights on our shore visits. It’s draining.
I am forever scarred from our multi-family shore house vacations. The worst. The cleaning, the wake-up times, THE FOOD. Planning meals (some people like to grill meat/fresh seafood, some people will just throw something in the crock pot (ends meat), getting into restaurants, the trash, what is appropriate to leave out on the counter), the schlepping to the beach with all the toys, the rules about treats and sugary snacks... so unrelaxing.
It is a lifelong dream to own a shore house in Cape May - I LOVE it there. I just can't deal with the preparing for a trip where I need to do/bring everything. Just like Disney (which is lovely), it's the insanity surrounding it. And the food.
So many people in the US have an absolutely ridiculous idea of how big of a car they want to drive. Friends with two kids urgently "need" a 3 row SUV, the number of massive trucks is insane, etc. I'm not suggesting everyone should drive a Smartcar, but the cultural identity thing of wide open spaces is very apparent in average vehicle size, to the extent that I bet a lot of people will read this and think they agree while themselves driving cars that in most other countries are seen as massive.
I agree with this and it’s so unpopular where I live. We are in a city. Why don’t you want a tiny car?! (Meanwhile I’m at Home Goods waiting for my boss and his giant SUV bc my new couch doesn’t fit in my car 😂)
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Is driving a smaller car really even that better for gas mileage anymore with all the hybrid and electric cars available? I just looked up a hybrid Sienna and it gets a combined 36 mpg. The hybrid Honda Civic gets...36 mpg.
ETA: Whoops the Civic MPG of 36 mpg is just for the regular civic. In any case, I still think hybrid and electric cars are making the divide between larger and smaller cars less glaring. The real problem is people should just drive less
Oh yes, there’s no reason for fall or winter break. And the end of semester break in December only needs to be 10 days long. The US school year calendar needs to be completely revamped.
TBF many fall breaks are to accommodate the Jewish high holidays.
I can absolutely respect this POV, but am pretty certain that's not my district's motivation.
This year, FB is 10/16-20, and 10/23. At least last year it covered Halloween.
TBF many fall breaks are to accommodate the Jewish high holidays.
I fully support excused absences for any religious holidays and no testing during that time. But public schools do not need more breaks than a typical working parent has vacation time to accommodate. We had THREE WEEKS off in December. That’s insane.
Three weeks in December is indeed insane.
But an “excused absence” is othering. Full stop. Christian holidays aren’t the only holidays.
Work should have the same breaks as school, not fewer breaks for school.
I’m sure all of the, “we should go to school more,” posts are from people who like their school system and don’t spend all their time fighting with it and dealing with their kids’ trauma being a part of it. Or maybe they really like work and want to be able to be there with fewer barriers.
The less school and work the better, as far as I’m concerned.
TBF many fall breaks are to accommodate the Jewish high holidays.
I fully support excused absences for any religious holidays and no testing during that time. But public schools do not need more breaks than a typical working parent has vacation time to accommodate. We had THREE WEEKS off in December. That’s insane.
This is a work problem not a school problem. Kids need breaks year round. Teachers need breaks year round. I have never worked or had a kid in a school district with 3 weeks at Christmas. We have 5 days. This is acceptable, 3 weeks is not (this is easily fixed, but I'm guessing parents would complain if they changed it).
And you should not expect Jewish students to miss school when other holidays for other religions are observed.
I fully support excused absences for any religious holidays and no testing during that time. But public schools do not need more breaks than a typical working parent has vacation time to accommodate. We had THREE WEEKS off in December. That’s insane.
Three weeks in December is indeed insane.
But an “excused absence” is othering. Full stop. Christian holidays aren’t the only holidays.
I think you’re reading something into my post that isn’t there. I am not in favor of schools having set closures specifically for Christmas or Easter either.
But an “excused absence” is othering. Full stop. Christian holidays aren’t the only holidays.
I think you’re reading something into my post that isn’t there. I am not in favor of schools having set closures specifically for Christmas or Easter either.
So your OU is you think schools should be open on Christmas Day now?
ETA: deadwing also wants school on Christmas Day. Maybe not so unpopular …
I fully support excused absences for any religious holidays and no testing during that time. But public schools do not need more breaks than a typical working parent has vacation time to accommodate. We had THREE WEEKS off in December. That’s insane.
This is a work problem not a school problem. Kids need breaks year round. Teachers need breaks year round. I have never worked or had a kid in a school district with 3 weeks at Christmas. We have 5 days. This is acceptable, 3 weeks is not (this is easily fixed, but I'm guessing parents would complain if they changed it).
And you should not expect Jewish students to miss school when other holidays for other religionsChristianity are observed.
FTFY. I could be wrong. It's been awhile since I've been in school and I don't have kids.
Is driving a smaller car really even that better for gas mileage anymore with all the hybrid and electric cars available? I just looked up a hybrid Sienna and it gets a combined 36 mpg. The hybrid Honda Civic gets...36 mpg.
Not sure where you're getting this but it isn't true that a larger hybrid gets the same gas mileage as a smaller hybrid. I think Honda (and many other car companies) stopped making the Civic hybrid, because people only wanted to buy larger cars. I believe the 2015 Civic was the last hybrid available, and it gets 44 mpg combined: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/35667.shtml The comparable Toyota Corolla hybrid gets 47 mpg combined: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/45929.shtml. So both quite a bit better than the hybrid Sienna (35 mpg combined): www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/43471.shtml
I fully support excused absences for any religious holidays and no testing during that time. But public schools do not need more breaks than a typical working parent has vacation time to accommodate. We had THREE WEEKS off in December. That’s insane.
Three weeks in December is indeed insane.
But an “excused absence” is othering. Full stop. Christian holidays aren’t the only holidays.
It would be more equitable to not include Christian holidays in school or work calendars. All religious observances should be treated the same way. Maybe it should be as an excused absence at school and using a floating holiday or PTO at work.
ETA - to be clear I am not advocating for less days off. Trade the holiday time for more hours of PTO/float holidays/excused absences so workers and students have the flexibility to take time off when it is important to them.
This is a work problem not a school problem. Kids need breaks year round. Teachers need breaks year round. I have never worked or had a kid in a school district with 3 weeks at Christmas. We have 5 days. This is acceptable, 3 weeks is not (this is easily fixed, but I'm guessing parents would complain if they changed it).
And you should not expect Jewish students to miss school when other holidays for other religionsChristianity are observed.
FTFY. I could be wrong. It's been awhile since I've been in school and I don't have kids.
I think you’re reading something into my post that isn’t there. I am not in favor of schools having set closures specifically for Christmas or Easter either.
So your OU is you think schools should be open on Christmas Day now?
Yes, read my original UO. I think there are too many school closures. I’m not going to go to school board meetings and advocate for this or anything. But please don’t try to paint me as anti-Semitic just because my UO is that I think fall break is as equally inconvenient as spring break and summer break. That was not at all my intent.
Is driving a smaller car really even that better for gas mileage anymore with all the hybrid and electric cars available? I just looked up a hybrid Sienna and it gets a combined 36 mpg. The hybrid Honda Civic gets...36 mpg.
Not sure where you're getting this but it isn't true that a larger hybrid gets the same gas mileage as a smaller hybrid. I think Honda (and many other car companies) stopped making the Civic hybrid, because people only wanted to buy larger cars. I believe the 2015 Civic was the last hybrid available, and it gets 44 mpg combined: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/35667.shtml The comparable Toyota Corolla hybrid gets 47 mpg combined: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/45929.shtml. So both quite a bit better than the hybrid Sienna (35 mpg combined): www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/43471.shtml
Ah whoops yeah I googled hybrid Honda Civic and it was giving me the combined mileage for the regular Civic. The FWD Hybrid Sienna gets 36 mpg.
Are people actually advocating for FEWER holidays and breaks for both students and working adults? Capitalism is wild.
And while we're on the subject, "excused absence" isn't the golden ticket a lot of you seem to think it is. Kids miss instruction they can't make up. They miss group and collaborative work they can't make up. Practices and games they can't make up. Sure, their grades and citizenship might not be officially penalized, but there are consequences and repercussions anytime you miss something everyone else is attending. School doesn't stop (especially HS and college) just because you're excused.
I do want to add that overall, I am with mpm’s sentiment that schools are closed too much. I’m not talking about fall break, or winter break. For me it’s more of the issue that there seem to be a lot of teacher workdays here and a lot of half days, and it is challenging for two parents who work full-time.
But, I get that teachers are under tremendous strain and if the calendar needs to be like that, then, we make it work.
The bigger issue here is probably ongoing bus driver shortages and buses being cancelled last minute. But that’s not really a bus driver shortage, it’s a pay shortage.
Is driving a smaller car really even that better for gas mileage anymore with all the hybrid and electric cars available? I just looked up a hybrid Sienna and it gets a combined 36 mpg. The hybrid Honda Civic gets...36 mpg.
It’s not just about gas mileage. Larger cars are more dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists, and other cars.