English Forward News - Education Empowers Everyone

Introduction Everyone loves summer, especially students who eagerly wait for it every year. As soon as the last bell before the summer break hits, students grab their backpacks and run for the exit, leaving behind all the thoughts of mathematical equations, theories, and literature. While summer breaks are necessary for students, they can also backfire if you can’t cope with your studies. Summer breaks are usually 60 days long. Sixty days is quite a long time for anyone to forget anything. This especially stands true for the students who forget about their studies during the summer breaks. For children, summer breaks mean a lot of watching TV, playing video games, going out with friends, and avoiding anything that has to do with books and studies. Does this mean every student is doomed to experience a summer learning gap? Not if they take their summer classes and tuitions. What Is The Summer Learning Gap? The summer learning gap is also known as Summer learning loss or Summer slide. It is defined as the learning loss of students over the course of summer vacation. Schools have seen a drastic fall in the students' intellect before and after the summer break. This is because, during the fall, students are nowhere close to their studies and are busy enjoying the summer with their friends and family. If you are a parent that is busy with work and doesn't have enough time to sit your child with books, it is important that you hire professionals from Greenbrier Learning Center. Hiring a professional will not only help you fill the learning gap, but your child will also be able to learn new academic skills. Causes Of Summer Learning Gap While there are many reasons behind this learning gap, all these reasons can be categorized into two different pillars. Idle Students With many parents working full time, kids have less supervision. So when there is no one to watch them, they will do whatever they find to enjoy. And certainly studying is not one of them. In fact, in the 21st century, students have access to different ways of entertainment, and educators will be happy if the student can watch episodes of Bill Nye the science guy. Because students are not indulging themselves in brushing up on their learning skills and lessons they have learned in school, they eventually forget them. This results in a summer learning gap. Low-Income Students Middle and upper-class parents who are active with their jobs and are in a better position in society hire professional tutors for their children. This helps the children stay connected with their studies, even though the schools are closed. However, the same can’t be said for parents who are working day and night just to put food on the table. Low-income parents are often too occupied to focus on giving their child food to eat, and clothes to wear and barely holding up with their studies. So, they can't pay extra for summer programs or tutors. Many experts believe that two-thirds of the students do not have access to summer tuition and other educational opportunities. No matter which socioeconomic class parents belong to, it is a true fact that most students remain behind their peers during the summer break. Why Summer Learning Is Important Children love summer break. During summer break, children don't have to think about completing homework every night or wake up early in the morning to get to classes. Children become so relaxed that they hardly open their books during summer break. This results in a summer learning gap. Students' academic skills deteriorate over the summer break. If you want your children to start school from the same level before the fall, you need to emphasize summer learning. Below are a few reasons that will help you understand why summer learning is important. Catch Up On Key Skills Has there been any subject that seems to be more challenging than others? If yes, summer break is the perfect opportunity to work on it. You can invest your time in the subjects you are bad at and practice the necessary skills that will help you get A+. Summer breaks must be seen as a time period where you can build key skills and boost your academic capabilities. Learn New Skills If you are good at one subject, it doesn’t mean that there is nothing to learn more about it. On the contrary, there is always something new to learn. High-school students can take elective courses that they can always fit into their schedule. On the other hand, elementary students can work on their reading skills and become more proficient at their penmanship. There is much to learn from students. They just need to show the urge to learn. Build Confidence Summer learning helps students to build their confidence. Unfortunately, when students are not good with their studies, they tend to avoid those subjects. This makes the situation even more worse. Summer learning can help you focus on the subject you are bad at and build confidence in that subject. Once that happens, students feel confident in dealing with the subject, which eventually makes them good at it. Maintain Your Academic Skills Summer breaks are long. Long enough that students can forget what they have learned in the classes before the fall. Summer learning can help students to keep up with their studies and stay relevant. So, even if they go back to school after the fall, they can start where they left off instead of finding themselves falling behind the curriculum. In Conclusion By now, it has been clear that during long summer breaks, students lose their capability to solve mathematical equations. And poor children lose their reading skills. Most experts believe that extending the school year can solve the problem and could also have a positive impact on students' learning. This is why most schools offer summer programs to ensure students stay on track. If the schools do not have any summer programs, parents take the initiative of hiring a summer tutor for their children. No matter how we see summer breaks, it is certain that it creates a gap in learning which affects the students. Please be advised that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog are solely that of the author or his/her sources and do not necessarily reflect those of English Forward. This includes, but is not limited to, third-party content contained on or accessible through the English Forward websites and web pages or sites displayed as search results or contained within a directory of links on the English Forward network.

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