FEATURE FOCUS: THE SUMMER LEARNING GAP
Disguised learning techniques With the traditional school calendar being so congested, it is almost impossible for children to read all of the fantastic novels that are at their disposal. Reading is a fundamental way for children to continue learning, while also developing their minds. Teachers may wish to introduce a reward
based scheme, where they can use their educational background, and knowledge to devise a list of books that they think will benefit a child the greatest throughout their education, and then compensate them for each book that they manage to complete within a certain timeframe. Naturally this would require cooperation from parents but convincing (the majority) of carers shouldn’t be too big an obstacle, the main concern would be providing the reading materials.
This is possible because of the added tuition
time, and also because there are far fewer students per class, so the teacher will have more time to dedicate to an individual than that of a normal school. Research tells us that pupils, who attend a summer school, are approximately two additional months ahead of similar students who do not. Another enticing prospect that summer
education is able to offer children, is the significant increase in likelihood of them being able to get into a top university. A report found that 76% of children who attend a summer school then go on to enrol in an ‘elite’ university, in contrast to only 55% of children with a similar academic and social background who did not apply to a summer school.
Alternative routes to success This isn’t the only option for parents/carers looking to help their little ones; even benign holidays abroad can be used as an opportunity to expand the mind of young children who haven’t had the chance to explore the world. Immersing someone in a new world with an unknown language engages the brain, particularly with critical thinking skills providing a tertiary means of stimulating academic growth without specific subject instruction. Home-schooling is also an option, either
personally taught by parents or via a tutor hired to focus on a particular subject area the student has been struggling with during term time. Either way maintaining some form of educational schedule throughout the month and a half break from schools can negate the negative impacts such a prolonged absence from the classroom can bring. Private home tuition tends to be more intense and academic focussed than many (particularly younger) children would like but it’s proven to result in higher overall grades at the end of the year.
The benefits of home-schooling There are many reasons why home-schooling throughout the summer has become both popular, and effective. Firstly, it creates ‘buffer days.’ Throughout the year, children are inevitably going to miss days from school. Whether it be through illness, a medical appointment, or a family bereavement, there will always be days
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where they are unable to attend, and these days can add up, making it almost impossible to shoehorn everything into the normal curriculum. These ‘buffer days’ provide children with a margin, which compensates for these days off. Home-schooling throughout the summer allows students to catch up on what they may have missed when they were unable to attend school, without the worry of having to squeeze it into an already tight schedule, or even the risk of falling behind. Another benefit of home-schooling is that it
enables children to have additional educational time outside of the classroom. Over the period of a school year, there aren’t many opportunities for children to go on field trips, as virtually all of their educational time is taken up by the basic subjects such as maths, science, and English. Continuing to study throughout the summer frees up additional time for children to participate in outdoor activities, without it having a detrimental effect on their ‘core subjects.’ It is important for a child’s mind, personality, self-confidence, and even physical health to spend time outside of a pressurised learning environment, while also learning more about different parts of the world, and interacting with new people, resulting in more accomplished social skills.
Beyond the academic benefits Away from a purely academic point of view, it is important for children not to lose discipline, or their sense of routine throughout the six weeks that they are away from a school environment, as this is also essential to a child’s continued development. It is easy for students to get into bad habits, such as staying in bed all morning, or lying around all afternoon in front of the television. This will very likely result in it becoming more difficult for a child to get back into a structured routine when term time starts again. Although summer education may not be as
regimented and well-organised as a school establishment during term time, it does allow a child to continue the daily routine that they have become accustomed to throughout the school year by having set study and activity times throughout each day. It is vital that children have discipline and structure in their life from an early age, and that this continues to be the case whilst they continue to develop. With any prolonged absence from academia
students will undoubtedly suffer, maintaining some form of educational tuition throughout the summer month whether it be via summer schools, home-schooling or even just seeing the world, ensuring parents are aware of the benefits and options available to them to explore is vital to giving the students in your class an additional boost to future success.
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