Educators create new school holidays to celebrate now that the traditional holiday season has wound down

February 5, 2025

As the holiday season approached, education nonprofit and innovator Edutopia asked its online community this question: “If you could create a wacky school holiday, what would it be called and how would it be celebrated?” Some interesting responses came back, so we thought we’d share a few of them:

Gratitude Day. To celebrate, teachers share gratitude for their students, colleagues, administrators, and others. Students are also encouraged to say what they’re grateful for in their fellow students, teachers, custodians, and other school staff members.
Crazy Curriculum Break Day. On this day, students are allowed to wear pajamas to school, and teachers are liberated from their normal lesson plans, free to create humorous and fictitious lessons instead. Other possible celebrations include a school-wide curriculum cook-off, in which students and teachers create dishes inspired by different school subjects.
School Board Day. Every member of the local and state board of education would be required to teach a day of state- and locally-dictated academic standards, using best practices and accomplished in line with accepted academic expectations. Students would not be penalized for mild acts of misbehavior.
Teach the Teachers Day and Expert Day. We’re combining two very similar ideas here that were suggested. Kids take over instruction, teaching mini-lessons of 15-20 minutes on something they’re experts in (dinosaurs, Disney, anime, a favorite book/movie etc.) to their peers and their teachers. One person pointed out that not only would this give students a chance to share their knowledge, but also a look at how much work goes into managing and teaching.
Legislators As Substitute Teachers Week. Like School Board Day, this would be an opportunity for some of our elected leaders, who have a great deal of influence on education policy, to get a taste of the everyday classroom life.
Teachers’ Paid Spa Week. During this week, parents spend two hours a day in their child’s classroom, teaching the lesson plans, maintaining order and time on task, and dispensing discipline. They must also document every assignment’s scores for the lesson, all while at least three additional parents are there to observer, take notes, and create evaluations using the school division’s rubric. Further, participating parents must submit documentation to the teacher at the end of the week to support their performance. Of course, while this is going on, teachers will be enduring massages, mud baths, and other spa treatments.
Board Games to Prevent Boredom Day. This one is pretty self-explanatory: board games all day long!
Wear a Balloon Day. Everyone in the school wears a single helium balloon tied to them. The hallways would be a scene of (at least somewhat) delightful confusion. Could be a very amusing day.
Day After Parent-Teacher Conferences Day. A day off for all concerned. Celebrate by sleeping in. Same goes for Day After Halloween Day.

Did You Know?

The average pay of Virginia public school teachers in 2023-24 was $65,830. That is $4,260 below the national average of $70,090.

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Educators create new school holidays to celebrate now that the traditional holiday season has wound down

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