At 02:03 PM 11/21/03 -0500, Melissa Burchfield wrote:
>Another adjustment to the calendar I would like to propose is to have the
>last day of classes occur before the Thanksgiving break instead of having a
>single day of classes left over after the break.  Wouldn't it be more
>sensible to have final exams begin right after the break?  A lot of students
>don't consider that last day a "real" class day and resent being required to
>come back from their break early if they don't have an exam until late in
>exam week.   In fact, many of them DON'T come back for class that last day
>unless they have a big test or some other in-class activity that will
>constitute a large part of their final grades.  The current calendar gives
>the appearance that the faculty derive some weird pleasure from making
>students' lives as inconvenient as possible for absolutely no reason.
>
>Melissa Burchfield
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Katheryn Thompson" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Friday, November 21, 2003 4:08 PM
>Subject: [UTCSTAFF] Fall holidays
>
>
> > Dear All,
> >         I would like to present a proposal for your discussion concerning
>the
> > holidays during fall semester. I would like to propose the elimination of
> > fall break, with perhaps starting the semester a few days later, and the
> > institution of a travel on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
> >         I and many I have spoken with have serious objections to Fall
>Break,
> > falling as it does just when classes are getting going. It is more of an
> > interruption than a respite. A Thanksgiving travel day simply makes sense
> > as so many of our students, as well as staff, must travel so far to spend
> > the holiday with their families.
> >         This is the only University I have ever heard of to have a Fall
>Break, it
> > is equally the only one not to have a Thanksgiving travel day. I am not
> > suggesting a reduction of class days, merely a rearrangement.
> >         What do you think about this?
> >
> >
> > Katheryn A. Thompson PhD.
> > Assistant Professor of Spanish
> > Foreign Languages & Literatures
> >

When I was a Texas A&M the last day of classes before Thanksgiving was on
Wednesday,
  because the football game against Texas was always on Thanksgiving Day(
It isn't any longer)
We got Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off, and if A&M beat Texas we got
Monday off too. (That did not happen often while I was there)
However fall examinations seemed to go longer into December than they do
here;almost until a few days before Christmas.

              It could be worse. When I first went to A&M ( The fall of
1967) we did not start the fall semester until after labor Day and fall
exams were
during the last week in January. We got two weeks off at Christmas, back to
school after New Years and Final Exams at the end of the month.
We then had a week off and then the Spring Semester started. It was not
over until the first week in June.
   BTW Gig'em Aggies

Harold A. Climer
Dept. Of Physics, Geology, and Astronomy
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
318 Grote Hall
615 McCallie AVE
Chattanooga TN 37403
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