For Vaudois schoolchildren, this Friday marks the start of the summer holidays. Notebooks on fire, teacher in the middle! Others, like the people of Fribourg, will have to wait a few more days, while the people of Valais have already been basking in the pill for a week. But, in the end, do all schoolchildren have the same number of weeks of summer vacation? No, quite the contrary.
In Switzerland alone, there are differences between the cantons. Among the best-off, with seven weeks, are the Vaudois and the Genevans, as well as the Uranais and the Jurassiens. Then, the majority of cantons give six weeks of vacation, such as Neuchâtel, Lucerne or Basel. Finally, some cantons, such as Zurich, Bern, or Saint Gall, only give their schoolchildren five weeks of vacation. Boxing out of category, the little Ticino residents have ten weeks of vacation.
Apart from these, there is only a maximum of two weeks difference between the cantons. But if we compare the vacation weeks of other European countries with those of our dear little ones, there is reason to ask questions. The Italians have 13 weeks of vacation, the Greeks 12, the Portuguese and the Spanish 11, the Swedes 10, the Belgians 9, the French 8. Finally, the Germans and the Danes bring up the rear with 6 weeks.
These differences have been made over the years and are generally based on geographical, historical and economic considerations. We observe that the countries of the South are more “generous” than the countries of the North. The reason is simple: heat. It’s just too hot to keep the kids in class. In addition, these are countries where tourism is of great importance. Conversely, countries traditionally focused on agriculture, with a more temperate or even cold climate, tend to shorten the summer break.
Should vacations be shortened?
“Children have too much vacation!” This is an opinion shared by many parents every summer. But what is the truth? For the moment, there is no study on the ideal length of summer vacation and no consensus among scientists. Some experts argue that, like adults, children recover from the second week. The vacation does not therefore need to be long. On the contrary, the shorter it is, the more the material to be assimilated will be spread out over the year. Conversely, others consider that summer vacation is an opportunity to learn new things, in a different way. This period is therefore as beneficial as going to school.
