Summer Slide

I have been hearing a lot of chatter lately about summer slide. In years past, I might have been concerned about this, too, but I have had a change of perspective.

Do you think any of us were worried about my reading and math deficits in the summers of the 70s and 80s?

Back then, or at least as I remember it, we were not approaching school as a race. It was not some competition to be won. I don’t know how or when we got so sideways on this, but I have come to the conclusion that while summer slide is a real thing, it is not a thing we should be putting our time and energy into right now.

When do kids – including the academically at risk – get to be kids?

We sure as heck don’t allow that during the school year or even the school day on a regular basis. And this year, I think we all need time to reboot more than ever.

More is not more.

True confession: I have come full circle on this idea.

I used to think we should learn, learn, learn. And then in the summer we should learn some more, just in case we didn’t learn enough. Or we didn’t learn the right stuff. Or in case we were going to forget what we learned. I was always thinking we had to learn more right now just in case someone else is learning more. But more than what?

Yes, it is true that some students “slide” backward and start the fall in a different place than where they left. But hear me out on this. What if the “slide” we are measuring is completely the wrong stuff? What if we are only looking at reading and math when we should really be looking at some other things? Because y’all…there are other things and those other things matter. A LOT. Particularly now.

Take a look at what we (collectively) don’t understand about biology and social studies right now. (Think virus and civics and history and the avalanche of misinformation floating around.)

Take a look at how we’re treating each other as humans.

Take a look at how we have productive discourse (or not) and at our lack of conflict resolution.

I’m not saying all those people who are doing workbooks, multiple choice computer programs, and reading for points are to blame, but I am wondering how helpful those things are in June and July. I also think about how things can look different in the future. Not just for the adults, but for generations.

So, what do we do instead?

Rather than filling our summers with anxiety about what we didn’t achieve, or what test score we might need later, or who’s learning more, let’s change the conversation.

Let’s fill our summer with some strategic idling. (Yes, that’s a real thing.)

And we all need more of it if we want to be happier, according to this researcher.

Instead of continuing the race and pursuing scores and numbers, why don’t we spend this summer pursing happiness and building better relationships? If there was ever time to shift our focus, this is it.

Not be super nostalgic, but the summers of my youth included 3 channels plus UNC-TV and no computers. No workbooks and no textbooks. We did have an encyclopedia set and some other books my grandma wanted us to have that weren’t exactly accurate at that point due to space travel and social developments since they were published. Do you think anyone cared? No. 

Our main summer activity was staying out if the way of adults who might assign chores. While we did read, it was usually a newspaper or a magazine or a book for the third time because we ran out of other things to do.

We didn’t supplement school all summer because we needed to just BE. 

We needed to be all the things we couldn’t be in the school year.

We needed to be exhausted from playing all day outside and continuing after the sun went down.

We needed to be a little angry about doing chores but feel really good once the chores were done.

We needed to be able to navigate our way through games with a variety of age groups with no adults.

We needed to be creative with our downtime. Because we actually had downtime and downtime is when you process.

And if you had access to the Holy Grail of summer – WATER – you had other things to learn. Pools, lakes, creeks, rivers, and oceans were their own curriculum. And they still are. 

So, yes, I am a recovering summer slide advocate. I have switched parties and I pledge to pursue happiness and more of what matters in the long run this summer, not scores. I hope you will do the same.