Monday holidays always have been problematic for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate those three-day weekends that happen in October with Columbus Day, in November with Veterans Day, in February with Washington’s birthday (in Maine and a few other states this also is known as Presidents Day), and in May with Memorial Day. I enjoy the time to visit with family near and far, take a “daycation,” and catch up on chores. As a teacher, however, I find it hard to think that my students will learn more about Columbus and Washington by staying home than they would by coming to school that day.

I know that Veterans Day and Memorial Day have parades, ceremonies and opportunities for students to learn what those days are meant to honor, but I still question the educational value of having these days off from school.

It is interesting to note the reasons for Congress’ decision to create Monday holidays. According to several Web sites and an essay by Barry Schwartz in “Institutions of Public Memory: The Legacies of German and American Politicians,” Rep. Samuel Stratton of New York tried throughout the 1960s to have all national holidays, including July 4, fall on a Monday. He was unsuccessful until 1967.

It took Congress about another year to create a bill that would pass both houses. The Congressional Record from January 1967 through June 1968 reveals that the supporters of this bill thought there were four significant reasons to create Monday holidays:

. To create jobs in the travel industry.

. To increase local tax revenue through tourism.

. To cut absenteeism by preventing workers from adding days to midweek holidays.

. To end costly midweek shutdowns and startups for businesses. Opposition to this bill cited the feeling that moving the holidays would dilute their historic meaning. On Jan. 1, 1971, the Uniform Holiday Act went into effect.

I can’t speak for other citizens but, as a teacher, I know that these Monday holidays do affect education. First off, Monday schedules are significantly affected. Any course that meets on Mondays is shortchanged. Early elementary school social studies programs often include holidays as a focus. It’s hard to provide meaningful learning experiences when the students aren’t there.

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, is a day of honor and remembrance for those who have died serving the United States of America. Today, we also remember those who have served and survived. If my students were in class this day, we probably would read a book such as “Memorial Day Surprise” by Theresa Golding. In this story, Marco attends a Memorial Day parade with his mother who has promised him a “big surprise.” The surprise is seeing his grandfather leading the veterans group in the parade.

We would talk about what it means to serve your country. We would talk about relatives who serve our country and the many forms that service can take. I would tell them that my grandfather was a chaplain in the Army during WWII and that my Uncle Paul served with the Navy in Vietnam and that my Uncle Dave was in the Navy and went to Japan and that my husband’s father was a medic in the Korean War.

The topic of war would come up. Questions would abound. I’d direct the discussion to be as honest and apolitical as possible. Because no matter what the adults think and do and feel about the current state of world affairs, the individuals who serve the United States are worthy of respect, honor and remembrance.

I would assign a writing project. It might be to write a letter to a relative who is a veteran. It might be to write a poem about ways to serve the U.S. It might be to design and write a postcard to someone serving now that we would mail. I would do some sort of art project. We might learn John McCrae’s 1915 poem, “In Flanders Fields” and make paper poppies to share with other classrooms. We might look at symbols of the United States and draw pictures of them to send to the VA hospital or to the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor. Maybe we would sing our whole repertoire of patriotic songs. Each one of the learning activities would include history and the present and remembering.

Since I won’t have my students that day, these activities will take place before and after Memorial Day. They’ll be spread out over time and squeezed in between end-of-year testing and growing butterflies for one last science project and all those year’s end celebrations and events. I hope my students will take a small bit of understanding with them that this extra Monday holiday is not just the start of camping season or simply a day off from school. I hope that they will remember that this is a day of memories and that at 3 p.m. they will join others in the United States in a national moment of remembrance in honor of the people of Memorial Day.

What’s your favorite way to celebrate Memorial Day? What’s your favorite way to teach Memorial Day? What do you think of Monday holidays? Let’s continue this conversation. E-mail me at conversationswithateacher@gmail.com.