The Edutopia Poll
by Sara Bernard
It’s summertime once again, and students and teachers around the country are getting ready to relax. Still, the threat of summer learning loss can hang heavy on educators’ minds. Research suggests that an extended break from school can dramatically reduce students’ academic progress, and few teachers want to spend the beginning part of the new school year teaching what should have been learned already.
Are summer classes necessary to keep students on target academically or are there other ways to keep kids’ minds working? Tell us what you think.
What strategy is most effective for combating summer learning loss?
Summer classes focused on core subjects, such as remedial math or English, that include plenty of individualized instruction and one-on-one tutoring.
10% (8 votes)
Hands-on, engaging summer programs, such as camps, book clubs, or other activities that keep kids brains active, even if they don’t specifically include academic content.
58% (45 votes)
I think it’s important to keep summers open for students because the alternative experiences children have over the summer inform and enrich their academic education.
23% (18 votes)
I don’t see significant evidence of summer learning loss in my students.
0% (0 votes)
None of the above. (Comment below to tell us what works at your school.)
8% (6 votes)
Total votes: 77
Preventing Learning Loss
Submitted by twinkie1cat (not verified) on June 19, 2007 - 19:04.
I am a severe/profound teacher, the least able end of special education. I have found that my students, the ones you would expect to forget most easily, don't. That is they don't forget if they have MASTERED A SKILL. If they have just barely acquired a skill and it is not yet something with which they are comfortable, they will definitely forget. However, if they really know something, it stays.
Schools try to teach too much at one time. They rush on to the next objective before the prerequisite is firmly entrenched---multiplication with two digits before the child is comfortable with one digit, for example. This is probably because administrators are pushing to "cover the curriculum" whether the students are ready or not.
And by the time the slower ones are in the 4th grade and the high stakes testing comes along and they have to write an essay when they cannot write a sentence with correct grammar, they are hopelessly behind, discouraged, and have lost interest in learning. Then you get a whole different batch of problems.
Ok, I teach functional skills. I was teaching a "vanilla" severe child (no concurrent motor or sensory problems. He was just very slow.) to wash clothes. School ended in May. He knew about 1/2 of the steps when he left. The first week of school when he came back, I took him across the hall to wash clothes. He could do exactly what he had done in May! He even remembered that the detergent was not to be put in his mouth! Now if a child with an IQ around 25 can remember what he has really learned, a child of normal intelligence can do the same thing. It is all about how they are taught and not trying to build skills until the prerequisites been learned.
Year-Round School
Submitted by T Siembor (not verified) on June 19, 2007 - 05:41.
We have two big problems:
1) those most academically needy are usually those least likely to make the traditional, 180 day calendar we already have in place. Where are they? Are they any more likely to attend during summer months?
2) who pays for this? The government? The School District (taxpayers)? Privately subsidized?
I truly believe that summer activity programs that offer hands-on, real-life applications are invaluable. What's better than camping under the stars? Climbing a difficult rock face? Accomplishing a cooperative goal as a team? Remember Outward Bound?
If we, as a nation, can separate ourselves from the idiocy of test results and build life skills,we can and should look at educating the child for his or her own life benefit, not just boosting a district's report cards percentage.
10th Grade English
Submitted by C. Gilcher (not verified) on June 16, 2007 - 08:36.
In Florida, where I work, nearly half of our students come from families and, many times, communities, where English is not the primary language. I, for my own reasons, support families who want to maintain their cultural heritage while becoming American citizens. The issue we face as teachers, however, is that with a 6-8 week hiatus from the school environment every summer, the students often lose some of their English language development because they don't use their English skills during summer break. Our district is not going to consider the option of year round schools anytime soon, and as much as we get parents involved with using English language skills at home, it's sometimes difficult for them with the immense responsibilities they face, multiple jobs, caring for extended families, and maintaining their households. Furthermore, summer programs have been nearly eliminated, and the ones in existence focus strictly on test scores. We need summer programs, partnerships with local governments, and something that can be available to all students- sports camps, book clubs, art projects, volunteer and community service projects, dance and music programs- stuff they don't get access to year round.
Summer Learning Loss
Submitted by JLumpkin (not verified) on June 15, 2007 - 20:12.
In my area of the country, most parents fall in the category of leaving their children alone at home while the parents work. Few children have the opportunity of having a parent at home during the summer. Some children do have the opportunity of being involved in some type of summer camp, but only those whose parents are willing to pay for them. There is not much we (the school systems) can do to incorporate summer time learning except to extend the school year (the number of days) and to create year round schools.
We are offering a program
Submitted by L. Hoffman (not verified) on June 15, 2007 - 13:02.
We are offering a program this summer that offers prelearning and reinforcement of skills for students entering the 7th grade. Everything is supplied including bus service, breakfast and lunch. We have about 130 students attending and have openings for 180 more students, but since it isn't for credit we have to beg parents to send their children. I'm still in favor of year long school and skill mastery rather than grade levels.
you're right on
Submitted by Greg Moon (not verified) on June 17, 2007 - 09:27.
Year round school...I'm with you 100%. One- or two-week breaks scattered throughout the year make much more sense. It evens resembles the world we will eventually send these children into. When was the last time our kids needed time off to harvest crops? Even if we don't want to drastically increase the number of days of instruction, how about balancing the “vacation” times throughout the year a little better?
Skill mastery...I'm with you again. Our current system is administratively convenient, but hinders education. This is another example of schooling getting in the way of educating. "Smart" kids are shackled with confinement to a chronological grade level, while those that are challenged are moved on despite not mastering the level they are being moved to. This is very convenient for the adults, but not-so-hot for the customers.
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