Thinking Paper # 49: Should schools be recalled in the wake of the London rioting?

By Ron Ford Golightly

Abstract

As the kids take to the streets of London to protest against having 6 weeks off for the summer, we ask, should school holidays be downsized to a long weekend at the end of August?

Detail
London has been hit by a wave of riots because teenagers feel that they get too much time off school and less time in a safe and structured environment. Only one of the kids we interviewed told us that he was after a new pair of trainers. Another said that he raided the Carpet Right in Brixton because he thought it was some kind of "sexy parlour".

The teachers we spoke to however said that they still needed 6 weeks off work because "the harvest won't do itself". Some spluttered over their beers whilst sat in the sun, and others looked worryingly on, before making urgent phone calls to recruitment consultants about teaching opportunities in Kuwait.

Conclusion

Teacher's holidays will probably never be cut because the people who have the power to make these changes are MP’s and they too need the summer off for the harvest. If teacher’s holidays get cut, then MP's might open themselves up to the suggestion that they too should shorten their holiday. This is called a "self-interest loop of self interest"