The second Monday in October used to be the first holiday of the school year. It came just at the right time-- when routines were pretty solid, but everyone could use a break after the go-go-go of the beginning of the school year. Some years back, in an effort to add more working days to the teacher calendar, Columbus Day became a student-only holiday; staff was expected to participate in professional learning.
There was some justification of the move that involved a cursory discussion of whether it was appropriate to mark the day as a holiday at all, given all the terrible consequences of Columbus's journey on the people and lands he "discovered". I more than understand that perspective, and this year I was happy to hear that our state is celebrating Indigenous People Day for the first time. Even so, I got up, logged in, participated in my distance PD, and then planned my lessons for tomorrow and Wednesday.
I hope the kids enjoyed their day off.
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