There are many holidays, both federal and religious, throughout the school year for which we have no school. There are also many holidays, both federal and religious, throughout the school year for which we do have school. One of them just so happens to be Veterans Day. So why, when we are given off school for eight of the 10 major federal holidays, do we have school on Veterans Day? Why don’t we have a day off to show our gratitude to the brave men and women who have risked their lives in service of the United States?

I should probably start off with a little history lesson. Veterans Day coincides with Armistice Day, itself a national holiday in some European countries, commemorating the treaty that ended World War I at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. Since then, Veterans Day has grown to encompass all American wars, not just World War I.

Now the other two major military-related holidays are Memorial Day, which remembers those who gave their lives in the service of this country, and Armed Forces Day, which honors those who are currently serving in the five branches of the military. We get a day off of school for Memorial Day, and Armed Forces Day is always on a Saturday. It seems unjust that we should have no school on a day to remember those who served and died but a normal day of school on Veterans Day, and barely anything said at school to commemorate it.

On Monday, there was a brief acknowledgement on the morning announcements and that was it. Nothing else. No special programs or anything. We’ve had Holocaust survivors visit the school and talk before (admittedly not for a special occasion, but still), so why couldn’t we at least reach out to some veterans?

We get days off of school for much more minor events, such as the birthdays of people who lived and died 200 years ago. We need to have at least 180 days of school, and this year we have 181. We could afford to take Veterans Day off and still meet that threshold. Maybe we could get Veterans Day off if they weren’t so liberal with the amount of snow days – just a thought.
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According to the OPM, there are 10 federal holidays. Schools are closed for eight of them. The remaining two are Columbus Day and Veterans Day. So why don’t we make it nine?

We don’t have school on the birthdays of George Washington and Jesus Christ, but we still have school on Veterans Day.

September 19 full school days
October 21 full school days 1 half school day
November 15 full school days 4 half school days
December 15 full school days
January 19 full school days 1 half school day
February 18 full school days 1 half school day
March 21 full school days
April 15 full school days
May 20 full school days
June 10 full school days 1 half school day
TOTAL 173 full school days 8 half school days

181 INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS