Seize Summer And Avoid The Slip

The calendar says August, which means less than a month before school resumes. It is definitely time to start thinking about back to school beyond new sneakers and the annual big shop at Staples. Everyone loves to exhale over the summer, but that shouldn't mean a total break from intellectual stimulation. 

Tucker Paine, who is the Director of Academic Services for Greenwich Education Group, offers some insights below as to why staying off the “summer slide” is important for your kids and how there is still time to re-engage.

Universal Truth in Education 

Due to the sheer volume and variety of classes, concepts, teaching styles, and learning styles, not to mention the ever-evolving list of what the "best practices" for each actually consists of, it is increasingly difficult to find that one statement that rings true throughout all fields of education. Here is one statement that I am confident does exactly that:

"Summer learning strengthens academic ability." 

There is a vast number of research articles trumpeting this very point (such as here, here, and here), and any educator will likely respond with a ‘yeah, no kidding!’ if you were to ask them for a second opinion. And yet, year after year after year, students of all age groups are given ‘summers off.’ An entire summer, more than two entire months, go by with virtually no intellectual stimulation for some children. 

During the summer, much is forgotten, true, but even worse, nothing is added. Or to use an analogy, if we think of a student's knowledge as a glass of water into which water or information is slowly but surely being added, we want to avoid long stretches where water is not being added as we all know that water that is left alone evaporates over time. So we need to continue to add, add and add. Furthermore, we also want students to be intellectually challenged during the summer in order to keep their brains strong, not just full.   

What does summer "intellectual stimulation" actually mean?

Read every day! It can be in the form of books, magazines, websites, really anything that requires that the student read, process, and absorb information. Students associate summer with freedom, so let them choose what they will read, provided it is appropriate from a reading level standpoint. For example, if your rising 9th grader tries to get away with reading Sports Illustrated for Kids, why not give them the regular Sports Illustrated instead?

There are also many other choices of intellectual stimulation available such as summer classes, interest-specific camps (such as music camp or science camp), and more; many activities that build, strengthen, or enhance a student's ability in a certain academic area and combine learning in a social and fun-filled environment. 

"We have to do everything we can to give all our children opportunities to get off to a strong start, and community institutions play a critical role. For parents and families, libraries and museums are a go-to resource that supports them as their child's first teacher,” said Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education in a report released earlier this summer by The Institute for Museum and Library Services. “Public and school libraries as well as all kinds of museums, science centers and zoos are trusted, welcoming places where children can make discoveries, deepen interests, and connect their natural curiosity to the wider world -- developing the skills they need for a lifetime of learning."

Regardless of the approach you choose, the goal remains the same.  Keep refilling your child’s intellectual water glass as much as possible.  It will help avoid the summer slide and may just keep them entertained at the same time.

Click here to access the Greenwich Public Schools Summer Reading List