PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE:
From Diane Swiatek, Principal of Banbury Crossroads School
June 17th, 2004
WHAT'S A SUMMER FOR?
Summer approaches, and with its arrival, students' thoughts turn to visions of holidays from school! For those of us faced with the privilege of caring for these young people during summer's frolic, it is only wise to think carefully about the influence we will have upon their activities. In order to make effective plans, we must first answer one burning question: What's a summer for?
In the early days of this century, the summer was a time of great activity for households on the farms and ranches of Alberta. Summer holidays from school were established since young people were needed by their families to help with this crucial work, to the extent allowed by their ages. At the same time, it freed children from the captivity of four walls, and allowed them direct, relevant, and full-sensory contact with nature. Moreover, in the time beyond chores, their minds grew active with fantasy play and spontaneous planning of escapades with their peers. As they played and laboured, their muscles and their minds were stretched and extended. I remember, years ago, hearing about a study done in Britain on children's growth patterns, and being cynically unsurprised to find out that most of this growth was done during summer holidays! Clearly, this time of physical and creative activity in the fresh air has been a necessary bright spot in most children's lives!
Summer has always been a time for family interaction as well. For decades, school holidays offered full days that stretched lazily into weeks and months, time needed for an experiential reminder that the family group belonged to itself. During the colder months, school and workplace predominated in the affairs of the family, gobbling up time and focus. During summer, though, people were able to settle back and notice intently the people they shared their lives with. Vacations and short excursions brought every family member in direct, relevant and full-sensory contact with each other! They needed that.
In such a relaxed and pleasant state, children have always enjoyed the company of their peers and their elders, and in this state, they also learned. John Holt, who has been an inspiration to me for decades, wrote in 1969 in his book, The Underachieving School, - Nothing that ever happened to me in English classes at school was as helpful to me as the long conversations I used to have every summer with my uncle, who made me feel that the difference in our ages was not important and that he was really interested in what I had to say. I hope that nowadays, in our school, these sorts of conversations appear within our English classes and everywhere¡Kand I think they do. This does not negate the importance of those old-fashioned summertime conversations, though.
In our current world, those parents who are not farming or ranching are employed in other endeavours, and may not be available for conversations or anything else with their children. In these cases, childcare must be given to others¡Kto grandparents, day camp workers, sisters and brothers, other family members or friends of the family. Some working parents arrange their holidays, in whole or in part, to coincide with their children's vacations. Still other parents work from Banbury or are stay-at-Banbury parents, and so they themselves are directly responsible for their children's summer experiences. It is to all of these caregivers that the scope and quality of children's vacation plans are entrusted.
For those of us in this enviable position of facing long, warm, summery hours with children, we need to rethink this question, What's a summer for? The first answer to this question is that it is a break in routine, a change. Students have just finished spending up to eight hours in each day for ten months traveling to and from, and attending, school. During that time, their attendance is focused upon specifically educational activities, and upon maintaining quality in these endeavours. Much of the work done within schools is analyzed intensely for correctness and completeness, even more so than the work produced by adults in their jobs. This is because children are still learning, and need feedback until they are competent and self-governing. Nevertheless, the scrutiny can be daunting to youth, and understandably stressful. Summer vacation offers a prime opportunity for re-energizing their spirits and for expanding their activities to encompass those not regularly undertaken in schools.
It is natural that emotionally healthy children desire to have a pleasant existence one that is challenging and interesting, yet peaceful and secure. They also need time to be autonomous, to make independent decisions and to plan for their own personal goals. Creative and spontaneous play is important for their emotional , physical and social development, and this need is not restricted by age. The truth is that children have lives outside school. School provides just one venue for learning about the world in a concentrated fashion, but learning occurs elsewhere as well! All year long, children need to engage in learning that does not involve academic study, and we call these recreational pursuits. This word emphasizes the aspect of re-creating the spirits of children. (Adults need these too, by the way.) Recreational activities develop our interests in a variety of ways, and the empty weeks of summer provide an ideal opportunity for extended engagement with energetic adventures: from music, drama and art experiences, to swimming, waterskiing and boating, to soccer, baseball and hiking. These suggestions all encompass common threads they are kinesthetic, they are talent-based and they are social. So¡Ksummer is for activity that recreates children's curiosity in the world around them, that focuses on their strengths and personal interests, and that connects them to others in their circles of family and friends. Summer provides the time needed to create those personal connections. Our youth need to hike and camp with their families in the wilderness, visit with grandma and grandpa, play chess, attend outdoor theatres and concerts, learn skills like carpentry or sewing from their elders, write letters or e-mails to relatives and friends far away, and watch the night sky for constellations. These activities take time, and plenty of it. This is the heart and soul of summer.
What of academic learning? What place does that have in those months away from school? Do children really forget myriads of facts and regress in their skill development during those weeks away from classrooms? It is possible; however, I would question how well those facts and skills were learned in the first place, and whether they had ever entered the children's long-term memory. I am not much worried about this. Those children prone to forgetting significant amounts of prior learning usually present obvious signs to their parents, who usually take specific, even professionally-recommended, academic, remedial actions. Many youth engage in summer school in order to fulfill their own or their parents' goals to complete certain school courses.
For most children, though, summer is not about undergoing rigorous academic training. What is interesting to me is that, although I am most attached to the idea of schooling such as it occurs at Banbury, I recognize that children are, underlying everything, just people who arrived on Earth and are busy finding out what is going on here. This learning occurs absolutely everywhere! It is good to remember this. What summer provides more than everything else is freedom¡Kfreedom to choose what to do. We all value the ideal of freedom. Our democracy enshrines it. Yet, when are children really free? Most children are at the mercy of outside forces for most of the big issues in their lives. Their parents choose their Banbury city, their books and movies and toys, their visitors, their religious traditions, their holiday locations, their schools, their pets¡Kalmost everything! Aside from small daily choices regarding clothing, food, playtime and project details, children's freedom occurs mostly on weekends, in the evenings, and in the summer. If they are then organized through courses, teams and camps, their freedom is limited to having agreed to participate in the first place. The freedom that is undeniable comes from having hours and hours with nothing delegated or assigned to them. Children still need to ride their bikes, walk on logs, play spontaneously and plan escapades. This also is when books become freedom¡Kunder the shade of a tree for the whole day! What a joy! So¡KWhat's a summer for? Joy!