Whatever Happened to Kids' Summer Vacation from School?

The stacks of composition books stopped me in my tracks during a recent trip to a big-box store. A sign fastened to the shelf announced they were just 99 cents each. It also carried a warning: "Limit 25." I was still digesting the concept of buying 25 of these back-to-school staples when a girl around 12 or 13 began to bemoan her lack of a summer vacation from school.

"C'mon, Mom!" she pleaded as her mother started grabbing the composition books. "School hasn't even been out a month yet!"

The objection apparently fell on deaf ears. After loading up on the 99-cent specials, the mother turned around and started grabbing pens, pencils and markers, also on sale.

The Way It Was

For many places in the United States, the concept of a traditional summer break from school probably no longer exists.

In the 1960s in my hometown in northwestern Ohio, when school was out, school was out. I remember taking American history in summer school because I intended to be a languages major in college. Since Advanced Placement courses in my high school were double-period classes, taking this required course in the summer was the only way I could fit in two foreign languages simultaneously during the school year. This was considered a revolutionary thing to do and took some persuasion to get my parents to agree.

Aside from that one harried summer, the others fell into a pattern. School was out sometime after Memorial Day and started the day following Labor Day. Summer vacation was a time for most kids to rest, play outside and perhaps take a family trip somewhere out of town for a week or two. High school juniors and seniors often had part-time summer jobs or made money mowing neighborhood lawns.

Back-to-school preparation didn't start until August. Schools designated a specific day when students could pick up the required list of supplies for each teacher. Girls' blue Moore gym suits--those with the ugly bloomers--had to be purchased at Patterson's department store. So did any Camp Fire or Girl Scout regalia.

There was just one place in this town of 30,000 where everybody bought school supplies: Findlay Print. Students got everything in one shopping trip that took at most 20 minutes the week before school started.

The Way It Is

In the suburbs of Washington, DC, the traditional concept of a summer vacation from school has all but vanished. A recent Washington Post article pictures a 16-year-old (yes, 16) senior working with cancerous mouse liver cells for a biotechnology research class offered in summer school.

A rising sophomore, 14, admits that in addition to classes during her 24-day summer school session, she has three to four hours of chemistry homework each day. She is one of around 100 students who signed up for a chemistry class offered by Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology this summer.

This competitive high school has a whopping 549 students enrolled in summer classes. After the school year ended in mid-June, they trekked back to the school on July 5 to go to class from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The reason heard over and over is a singular desire to get ahead, whether that means some kind of advantage in a follow-on class this fall, admission to an elite college or an eventual career with a stratospheric salary. A few just want more room in their schedules for electives.

While many school boards are cutting summer programs due to budget constraints, Thomas Jefferson's program is booming because families must foot the $820 bill for tuition and registration. Discounts are available for those who qualify for reduced-price or free lunches.

The Toll

Even when my daughter, now in her early 30s, was in high school, most kids had limited summer vacations. The Advanced Placement (AP) reading list for one class for the upcoming academic year arrived in the mail two days after school ended in mid-June.

I battled the high school over requirements for an AP biology class that included a guided canoe trip on the Potomac River while she was out of the state on mandatory summer visitation with her father. The teacher begrudgingly let her do the work once she returned, but it put her behind the rest of the class.

In an age where so many children are in single-parent families, it's become difficult to have any concept of a summer vacation from school. Alternative child-care arrangements are often necessary for school breaks when parents work outside the home. Instead of a chance to sleep in, older kids find themselves on the way to successive two-week summer camps for things like computer applications, soccer and horseback riding.

Those who might enjoy summer team sports can't enroll because no parent is available during the day for transportation. Preparing for the next academic year becomes a pop-bead experience of shopping for shoes one week, computer software a few days later and a haircut the Saturday before school starts. Trips to the mall are often with whoever is old enough to drive and has access to a vehicle, not with a parent.

And they call this summer vacation from school?

Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/thomas-jefferson-high-students-gain-ground-in-summer-school/2011/07/18/gIQAs9i0RI_story.html

Personal experience