By Diana J. Washington

School always has been, and always will be, an absolutely critical aspect of children’s lives. If they are not able to go somewhere every day to learn the skills they need to be successful in the real world, then they will be at an extreme disadvantage for the rest of their lives when it comes to competing against other people for jobs, not to mention spots in important and competitive academic programs.

However, many people underestimate the other side of the equation. Once a child has all of the important aspects of his education covered, it is every bit as important that he be able to enjoy a break from that education. Children need to learn things in a classroom setting, but they must also be able to spend time exploring other activities outside of school, spend time with friends, go on family vacation, and so on.

One potential roadblock in this situation is that when a student takes time off of school for summer vacation, or another vacation, there is the chance that the student will become academically rusty. When the first day of school rolls around again, it may be difficult for the student to get back in the swing of things as far as keeping track of homework assignments, being alert in class, and, at a more fundamental level, just being able to think about and analyze information in a rigorous and productive way.

One type of policy that was created to address this problem is the summer reading assignment. When students are assigned summer reading, they basically get information at the end of the current school year from the teacher they will have for the next school year. They are told to read a book, or sometimes multiple books, which will be discussed in the next school year.

Sometimes reading the book prepares the student for a test they will take early in the next school year, and sometimes it is in preparation for a project or a paper that will be due. That way, the student has some small academic task which he must perform over the summer.

Summer reading can be a great way to keep kids on track, just a little bit, during the summer, but it can also potentially cause a problem. The summer is an important time for kids, and it is vital that teachers not take away that time from them by filling it up with school assignments. The goal of summer reading should never be to extend the school year through the summer.

However, when judiciously used, the summer reading assignment can create the perfect balance between work and leisure that students need over the summer. There is the assignment itself, which will have the student exercise his mind in a not altogether rigorous way, but which will still engage it nonetheless.

Then, you have the fact that there is no written work or extended commitment of resources required to complete the assignment, which will allow the student the freedom he is due over the summer to manage his own time and explore the world as he sees fit.

About the Author: Diana Washington is a writer for the Test Prep Blog Testing Is Easy. She writes on many topics related to education, with a special focus on teaching, standardized testing, and ISEE Prep, a growing concern for parents of children trying to get into private schools.

Source: isnare.com

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