School Days

A few years ago I blogged about the difference between school calendars when I was a kid and those they have now. 

But one thing I failed to mention is the advantage of the way it used to be.

Back when most public schools in the United States followed the same calendar schedule it was easier for kids who moved from one area to another. They knew school would start right after Labor Day, which national and religious holidays would give them a break, and that Summer Vacation would begin at the beginning of June. If possible, families scheduled moves so their kids would enter their new schools at the beginning of the school year.

But in the past every state had its own choice of curriculum, and even school districts within a state might be different. If a kid had to move during the school year the new school might be ahead of what they had learned in their previous school and possibly even studying different topics.

I'm no expert on the Common Core Curriculum and have heard both negative and positive things about it. However, I do think it must be easier for kids who move to have their classes in the old and new locations be similar.

If anyone can tell me more about the pros and cons of Common Core I'd love to hear what you think.

Months and Years

Long ago when the Romans developed the 12 month calendar the names we call, September, October, November, and December were based on their words for the numbers seven, eight, nine, and ten. The first month of their year was May, a name we've derived from Maia, their goddess of Spring. It was logical to start the new year when new life appeared.

The months alternated between 31 and 30 days. The Romans didn't plan for leap years.

The emperor, Julius Caesar, had the first Summer month of July named for himself. Then when Caesar Augustus became the next emperor he wanted a summer month named after him, but he didn't want it to be shorter than July because it might seem less important. That's why he took one day from the last month of the year, February, and added it to his own month of August.

Can you guess those men were both just a bit conceited?

If you want to remember the number of days in a certain month you don't need to remember the old rhyme, "30 days hath September, April, June and November," although that works well. Instead just remind yourself that the months alternate between 30 and 31 days, except for August and February.

Leap Day

Someone in my family was born on February 28th. Now that was a near miss!

People born on February 29th only have one real birthday once in every four years. I feel sorry for kids born on leap day.

Of course they can still celebrate their birthdays every year even if not on their true birthdays. Lots of kids have parties on the weekends nearest their birthdays instead of on the exact days, but it must still be hard for children not to have their parents and grandparents treat them specially on the anniversaries of the day they were born.

Leap year and leap day only show on calendars every four years and are not natural events like years, seasons, and days. Like weeks and hours, they only exist because people agree that they do. Months and years are based on the seasons and lunar cycles, but humans have agreed on modifications over the years because the actual ones don't coincide exactly with our concepts.

So let's agree that anyone we know who was born on leap day deserves extra special treatment this year.