Spring break is a time during the school year when everyone can kick back from their daily routine. Maybe it’s spent lying on the beach or climbing to the top of a mountain. Maybe it’s more laid back, allowing people to go home and spend time with loved ones. Ideally, people can spend their spring break however they please.
However, what happens when school responsibilities are brought home with students? While there are people that can take off and go on adventures and recuperate, other students are spending their time catching up on homework. If that’s the case, is it really a spring break?
This year’s spring break fell later in the semester than normal, likely due to the early start of the spring ’23 semester. SNHU began on-campus classes on January 2 without consideration of how it would affect the timing of spring break.
With five weeks left of the school year, students are beginning to feel pressured to complete outstanding assignments. Especially for those that are either graduating, participating in extracurricular activities, or both, any spare second of free time is most likely being used to tie loose ends in classes. Students would have benefited if spring break was moved forward a week earlier this academic year.
SNHU Online is also a program that does not offer a spring break due to its more flexible schedule. Because of this, students on campus that are also taking online classes must fulfill their requirements and complete assignments during spring break.
Additionally, student teachers are expected to fulfill their requirements. Anyone looking to earn their degree in education is required to student teach for a certain number of hours. Schools that student teachers work at don’t observe SNHU’s spring break. Because of this, many students must remain on campus in order to commute to the schools where they’re teaching.
As SNHU crosses over to the final stretch of the semester, there is more of a scramble to ensure classes are passed, resulting in students using their free time to catch up on work. However, being in college is a fleeting experience. One moment, students are getting their first taste of adulthood in their freshman year, the next they’re planning their next steps following commencement.
Either way, the process of earning a degree is a long one. This is why everyone deserves a break from their demanding schedules and a chance to catch a wave, explore, or spend time with loved ones.
