I wholeheartedly agree with Melissa.  It is almost impossible to get
students to return for the last Monday of classes and it really doesn't
make any sense to have classes then.  Why not simply make that Monday
Reading Day?

As for Fall Break, I love it as much as my students do so I would be
totally against any idea to get rid of it.

Melissa Anyiwo

At 02:03 PM 11/21/2003 -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
> >

Melissa Anyiwo, PhD
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
History Department
408 Brock Hall, Dept. #2052
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga, TN 37403
TEL: 423-425-4908
FAX: 423-425-2138
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