Kids do not need a 2 1/2 month summer break!
Let me start by saying that I am not a parent so I don’t know the value of having extended periods of time with my kids. And I also teach piano so you could say that I have a bias in wanting kids not to have a summer break. Personally that does not affect me much because many kids still take lessons throughout the summer since many parents want their kids to be stimulated and learning during this time period. Which leads to my exact point… Kids lose a lot in their development if they have so much time off school. I have spoken to teachers who spend all of September and early October just re-teaching what the kids learned the year before. Throw in Christmas and March Break and Long Weekends and Field Trips, how much actual learning is taking place??
Please don’t let this diatribe to lead you to believe that I think kids should not have time off. Au contraire, kids should have a month off in the summer and maybe an extended Christmas vacation, so that way they don’t leave their routine of learning for too long. And they also need more time to be just kids, less structured activities…but that’s another blog;)!
Why is this summer break so long? I heard that it had something to do with kids helping with the farms back in the good ole’ days…that doesn’t happen anymore. And what about time with family…the way our economy is structured, the majority of parents are working more with less vacation time so when are they seeing the kids anyway?
Feel free to disagree with me but I think our society’s mentality has to change on this outdated tradition.
Off my soapbox now:)!
Opinions expressed here are my own and not reflective in any way of a certain music teachers’ association I am presently the president of.