Last month's gentle burble was about the Swiss approach to education.
This month I intend to go a little further
about it.
Children start school at the age of Seven, as I have said. But this is where the fun begins. The school day is not consistent, the start time, lunch break time and finish time can vary from school year to school year and from school to school. Children all go home for lunch which can vary in length accordin to the school year, school and cirriculum. In addition if a teacher is off sick for some reason the children are sent home, always. the upshot of this is that it is almost impossible for the mother to work as if she has more than one child they can all be starting school, finishing school and lunching at different times of the day. As one foreign observer put it "Theres no unemployment in Switzerland.....It's all at home looking after the kids" Some might think this sexist, I couldn't comment.
If a woman does succede in get a job after she is married then under Swiss tax law that job is classed as a hobby job, it doesn't matter how much she is earning or what she is doing it's a hobby until the children arrive or a time filler now they have left home. Some might think this sexist, I couldn't comment.
While we are in the general area This country claims to be the oldest democracy of the modern world. So why did it take until 1971 for women to get the vote in National elections? And why did the Swiss Supreme Court have to force one canton to give women the vote in Cantonal elections in 1992? Some might think this is a modern country, I couldn't comment.
