School break

Two weeks ago a young mother I know was abruptly informed that the “Kiddie 1” classes of her three-year-old daughter, which were supposed to be until next month, were over for the school year.

The school is state-run, and the mother is unsure if the government decided to end the school year early because of the extreme heat, which has forced the suspension of classes in higher grades or a shift to ADM – alternative delivery modes of learning.

But the Kiddie classroom is air-conditioned and the class size is manageable, with only about 20 pupils. Maybe the rest of the school has poor ventilation so the faculty and school administration decided to end the school year several weeks early.

Kiddie 1, incidentally, is the entry level for school children these days, at least in that part of Metro Manila. There’s Kiddie 2 and then Kindergarten. I guess Kiddie 1 and 2 are the new names for play or nursery school.

The girl misses her classes, but these days she can spend time in a small inflatable pool to cool off in the intense heat.

Pre-pandemic, frolicking in the water was what people did in the peak of the Philippine summer. And yes, we called it summer, which weather specialists say is not accurate in a country without four seasons.

Today families can still cool off in beaches and pools, but only during weekends, because younger members are still in school.

Some resort owners have openly wondered in recent media interviews why they have few customers despite the extreme heat. The answer, folks, is that the school year isn’t over. Many schools are in fact just entering the period for final exams, and students can’t afford to relax in their studies.

Those resort owners will have to write off their hoped-for pre-pandemic summer earnings this year. The current academic year will be ending as the monsoon season starts. People aren’t going to swim or trek in the mountains when their street is flooded and torrential train is pouring.

*      *      *

The impact on the travel and tourism industry of the current academic calendar will have to be among the considerations as the government moves slowly in reverting to the pre-pandemic school schedule.

Vice President and