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DEL.ICIO.USWorried about a summer brain drain?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For many kids, summer has begun. They’ll spend the days relaxing at the pool, cooling off at the movies and playing games with friends.
Sounds perfect, but some teachers and education researchers worry about the “brain drain” — when kids forget what they’ve learned during the school year.
They say kids must read during the summer. They say parents should arrange some educational fun. One suggestion: go to zoo, but first research some of the animals you’ll see.
Teachers, do you have any suggestions for parents? Parents, are you worried about what your kids may forget over the summer?
Comments
By jim d
May 28, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this
NO WORRY here,
Mine heads off to school tommorrow evening and will begin his college expierence on june 1.
However, during his high school years he participated every year in a week or two at camp and then would spend additional time at camp teaching other Scouts. I’d suggest the lessons learned there far outweighed most of the trivia learned in school, kept him sharp, and what better way to learn than to teach? And He has a passion for reading.
Besides, the kid has a memory like a steel trap—stuff goes in, is stored in memory, and never escapes. To be quite honest, I’ve seldom seen anything like it.
By meme
May 28, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this
Make everything a learning experience and read, read, read.
By Ernest
May 28, 2008 9:41 AM | Link to this
Many of us may have grown up hearing the saying, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop”. Like JimD, I take it upon myself to ensure my kids are busy during the summer with camps, trips, and educational activities.
During a promotion address, the speaker suggested a ‘word of the day’ along with traditional reading assignments. I plan to use my old Readers Digests “Word Power” section as a means for helping them with their vocabulary.
I do worry about children that don’t have engaged and involved guardians. Those that can least afford the ‘brain drain’ are the ones that experience it the most.
By SallyB
May 28, 2008 10:16 AM | Link to this
Let’s see. Back in the day, summers were wonderful times. UNorganized days of swimming, vacant lot games, movies, maybe a couple of weeks at low stress camp, rainy days playing paper dolls or checkers or chess or reading a good book on the porch. Going to the library. Parents just weren’t involved much. I say: Just let the kids chill out, guys…don’t try to organize every day, every moment of their time. Give them time to entertain themselves and be creative. Don’t any of you have fond memories of summers spent this way?
By Stacey
May 28, 2008 11:09 AM | Link to this
I think brain drain has always been a problem. I remember when I was in school that the first few weeks were just a review of what we “learned” the year before.
I love to read so books are really big in my household. I take my son to the library to check out books in the summer so he has plenty to read. He loves the “Magic School Bus” books. He’s starting second grade this year and has requested multiplication flashcards to practice. We can’t afford to go out of town this summer so we are planning trips to the zoo, aquarium, Fernbank, King Center, etc. While I don’t plan to have a strict time to sit down and study everyday, I do plan on him making time no less often than every other day to do something.
By Jeff
May 28, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this
An hour or two a week reviewing what he learned in each subject last year should keep it in his memory decently enough that learning new material can start the day he goes back to school. (Think 5-10 hours total per week, compared to the 40 of a normal school week. Scheduling is up to the parent.)
Of course, in my later HS years I had ZERO time for brain drain - from the time I started at Kennesaw until the day I graduated 5.5 years later, I was in at least 6 hours of classes EVERY semester, and fall/spring semesters were at least 12 hours!
Which leads me to my point regarding K12:
Go to a year round schooling (YRS) system of some form where no break is longer than about 3 weeks or so, and you will no longer encounter this problem at all. 3 weeks every 9 is plenty to allow for anything a child needs as far as time away from school, visiting relatives, de-stressing, etc. (BTW: Teachers need those weeks for the same reasons, particularly the de-stressing!) It also allows for more and more effective remediation. (Instead of waiting all year to discover on an EOCT that Johnny has problems, you take a 9-weeks test, and if you fail, you get the honor of coming back to school during the 3 week break for immediate remediation on the topics covered in the test.)
Now let’s hear from the parents the single reason it supposedly can’t work. Come on parents, don’t let me down! It is the same reason every time this subject is brought up, and it is always COMPLETELY irrelevant! (Though it certainly brings out your true feelings of what schools are there for!)
By Tony
May 28, 2008 12:32 PM | Link to this
First let me agree with Jeff about the reason year-round-school has not been allowed - parents and the tourist industry’s want for cheap labor.
Now about the “summer brain drain”. While there are some studies that suggest kids lose information during the summer, there is very little evidence that this loss is detrimental. For most, they bounce right back at the start of school.
Summer vacation is where kids have opportunities for real world experiences that support learning concepts taught in school. Travelling, going to camps, hiking, working around the house/farm, getting a part-time job, even mowing the yard are experiences that can be used to build understanding for concepts that are important for life. One of the biggest disadvantages poor kids have is they usually do not have these opportunities. Without experiences to call upon as examples it is impossible for kids to understand some of the major concepts they must learn.
Please do not think that kids have to have some form of formal instruction during the summer. An irrelevant word from a word list will do little to impact learning. However, words in context of a situation are extremely powerful. Any seemingly mundane activity can have a learning opportunity if you think about the words and experiences the kids are getting.
Parents frequently ask me for materials like old math books they can use to give their kids homework during the summer. I recommend instead that the child be allowed to help build something requiring measurements, do things in the kitchen, help with grocery buying, or any activity where numbers come into play. These are much more powerful than having a child carry out series of calculations.
Spend time with your child doing things. Go for hikes, go to a ball game, play ball together, work on the yard together, go fishing, play in the dirt and look for bugs. All these are learning activities that will engage your child. They will also impart the value of learning by showing your child how much you care.
By Stacey
May 28, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this
Jeff…I agree with you about the year around school. The reason (I believe) you are talking about that parents are against it is childcare issues. While I have to rely on someone to watch my son during non-school times, I think the same place that provide daycare/daycamp to kids in the summer will adjust to the school calendar as that is often a big part of their revenue. JMO
Tony…I agree with your idea of allowing kids to apply the skills they learn in school. My son will be in 2nd grade next year but he is already learning simple multiplication and fractions. While I’m cooking I will show him a 1/2 cup measure and ask how many I need to make one cup. When we ordered a pizza a couple of weeks ago, my husband asked my son to give him 1/4 of the pizza & my son was able to figure out how many of the eight slices to give him. His teacher e-mailed me the next day to tell me how proud he was that he was able to figure it out all by himself!
By Jeff
May 28, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this
Stacey:
My point exactly. Either the child care provider will modify their programs, or they will be out of business.
By V for Vendetta
May 28, 2008 3:35 PM | Link to this
I think voracious reading would solve 50% of the “brain drain.” As for the other 50% … ? Athletics! I spent every summer of my school years participating in a sport that required me to be up at 5:30am every morning, Monday through Saturday. Guess what? Years later, I am able to wake up and be wide awake during hours when most people are still dreaming. I participated in college athletics and maintained the same schedule all through school. It’s paid off in spades.
And guess what!? Years down the road … I work out five days a week and I’m not fat. Imagine that! Reading and sports—the perfect summer combo.
By Jeff
May 28, 2008 3:46 PM | Link to this
V:
Haven’t seen ya around recently, end of the year sure is fun, eh? :P
By DB
May 28, 2008 4:31 PM | Link to this
Reading, reading and more reading — even if it’s magazines, at least they are reading! When the kids were in elementary school, we always had math workbooks for the next year’s math in the car, so that they could do problems on car trips, along with age-appropriate “Brain Quest” games. Games at home such as “A-Z” was good for spelling and vocabulary, and even “Monopoly” keeps basic math skills sharp.
By luvs2teach
May 28, 2008 5:08 PM | Link to this
When my kids were in elementary, I used to get the “Summer Bridge” books from School Box, but that was the only formal “studying” we ever did - a lesson a day, basically - that, plus any required summer reading.
We had regular trips to the library, pool, river, and park - we read, fished, swam, played outside. We cooked, shopped, and played games on rainy days. I was really good about using local parenting mags to find cheap/free activities - outside concerts were always a big hit, too.
Card games that keep score are great for math - MadLibs are great for parts of speech. Mapping (I love to read maps - and Google Earth is like crack to me) out trips is great for geography.
They each went to a week or two of camp - through the years it included Girl Scouts & volleyball for my daughter, and the Y, Zoo Atlanta, and Computer camp for my son. Nothing too academic - nothing too stressful - and nothing that took up every week.
I think you can keep learning happening in a relaxed, fun way - as long as they don’t spend all summer zoned out in front of a screen.
By V for Vendetta
May 28, 2008 8:37 PM | Link to this
LOL, Jeff. Between advancing my degree and my summer work, I’m busier during the next ten weeks than I am during the school year!
Wait, I forgot, teaching is a lot easier than a private sector nine to five job, right JimD? :-)
By happy2teach
May 28, 2008 9:55 PM | Link to this
READ, READ, READ and READ. Get ‘em outside and off the sofa. Get them interested in the campaign. “Break” the computer, “lose” their cell phone, don’t let them think summer doesn’t matter!
By Lee
May 28, 2008 10:52 PM | Link to this
I agree with SallyB, let the kids be kids for Christsakes.
Besides, to borrow a catchphrase from Catlady, if the schools taught for MASTERY, the knowledge loss will be negligible.
By Jennifer Brady
May 30, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this
Summer is definitely a time for kids to relax and have fun. And it’s also a time for kids to develop new skills and talents, try new things and continue learning and growing.
Study upon study shows that on average, kids lose the equivalent of more than two months of math skills over the summer. For young people in low-income communities, the risks are greater; they fall behind in reading an average of two months, while their middle-income peers make slight gains.
Like many of the posts mention, reading is a great way for kids to keep learning over the summer months! Kids can also take advantage of high-quality summer programs who combine fun, learning, social skill development, exercise and nutrition.
Find out more about summer learning at the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University: www.summerlearning.org
By Maggie
June 1, 2008 5:57 PM | Link to this
As a teacher, I do have a bit of concern regarding keeping kids from losing skills over summer vacation. However, the solutions to this problem are infinite and take little to no preparation. All it takes is a mindset by parents and other caregivers to make every experience a learning experience.
Let’s take mealtime, for example. Have students plan the menu or read the recipe card and measure ingredients. Younger children can work on patterns and counting when setting the table. A child can estimate the total amount of milk that will be consumed at mealtime and then compare it with the actual amount.
When taking a driving trip, count and graph the colors or types of vehicles seen. Let the student help with the map reading and directions. Have the child help handle the money at mealtimes. Turn the “Are we there yet” game into a telling time activity.
With a little bit of creativity, children can learn to be engaged in the world around them. They will likely start coming up with their own learning activities!
By Erin
June 3, 2008 10:02 AM | Link to this
Summer is a fantastic time to participate in all of those great kid experiences like swimming, camping, and riding bicycles. However, for many kids across the country, their idea of summer does not quite match up with our pleasant memories. Thirteen million kids live in poverty in the United States and for them, summer is not full of guarantees. For many kids, summer is a time where they can engage in risky behaviors because of having no supervision. Their nutrition is also taking a heavy hit. We know that only one in eight children who qualify for federal funded meals get them during the summer.
The need for summer programming is supported with over 100 years of research that helps us to conclude that when kids do not participate in some type of engaging learning activities there is definite learning loss, or as the article states, “brain drain”.
Years of research shows that summer is a great time for children to actively pursue those personal talents, build caring relationships with caring adults and peers, and reignite their passion for learning. Our national not for profit organization strives to make high quality opportunities for all young people. Feel free to visit our website; www.summerlearning.org.