The School Calendar

One of the ways mainstream schooling systems can begin to look at more radical transformations is by thinking about the whole idea of the school calendar. In the UK occasional tinkering occurs but essentially much remains as is.  In the USA experimentation and creativity with calendars have a long history however few have been built on radical ideals. A recent publication C.Kneese, C. Ballinger (2009) ‘Balancing the School Clalendar. Perspectives from the Public and Stakeholders’ Rowman & Litterfield Education. USA.  may help this process along a little. Of particular interest is a chapter from Don Glines ‘ Grounding Calendar: A Call for Reimagining Continous Learning.’ The book is worth acquiring for this chapter alone. Don sees clearly the need to move toward ‘continuous community learning systems’ based on ‘choices, options and alternatives.