Teachers of Arnold's school go on strike because of inadequate funding; He and his friends are on cloud nine, only to find out that every lost school day will be taken from their summer vacation.
Plot
In order not to burden the budget any further the students have to share tables, chairs and books. When Principal Wartz tells the teachers to use only one piece of chalk per week, Miss Slovak is fed up with him: She and the other teachers go on strike. So Principal Wartz orders all students to the auditorium to teach the students all by himself. However, since it does not work out too well, Wartz dismisses the kids at 12:30 already instead of 2:45 p.m. Principal Wartz even decides that the kids have the next days off until the strike is over. The kids enjoy their free time — that is until they notice that at all of their favorite fun places like the Arcade, the bowling alley or the city aquarium teachers are working now to earn money during the strike.
The kids don't know where to go, so Arnold suggests to play on the school playground, and they all hurry to school. But after a few minutes Principal Wartz appears and explains to them that are not allowed to be on the school ground during the teachers' strike. On top of that, they will have to be in school during their summer vacation to make up for all the days they missed because of the strike. The kids don't want to spent their vacation in school, so they decide to ask the teachers why they are on strike and to find a solution. However, the teachers don't want to explain the situation because they think that kids wouldn't understand their problems. Then they see Mr. Packenham buying loads of coffee and conclude that the teachers needed more coffee.
So Arnold and Gerald persuade the owner of Mindy's to donate coffee to the teachers. They can choose between "Mocha Java, Java Mocha, Arabian Mocha, Krakatoan Estate Java, Zimbabwe, Sumatra, Antigua, Guatemala, Kenya, Hawaiian, Kona Kona, Koala, Walla Walla, Dark Roast, Light Roast", and "Dark Light Roast". Principal Wartz and Miss Slovak do appreciate the coffee but to the kids' disappointment of the that doesn't solve their problems. But Arnold has an idea: They simply go in their classroom and learn on their own. The teachers and principal Wartz are confused when they happen to notice it. The kids then explain to them that they don't want to be in school during their summer vacation just because the teachers and principal Wartz can't come to an agreement. Principal Wartz compromises with Miss Slovak, and the school lessons can continue. The episode concludes with the kids lamenting their many days of summer wasted in class.
