As summer comes near, many children are really happy to forget about school for a few months. The summer vacation is the best time for students. They can go outdoors and have fun. They can go to big cities to go sightseeing, or go to the countryside to enjoy the beauty of nature. However, studies have found that children forget between one and three months' worth of school learning during the summer months. Spelling and math abilities are seriously influenced because of the long vacation, while reading is not really influenced by the time off. The most probable reason for this is that most children usually read at least outside of the classroom, whether newspapers, magazines, books, or video game guides. However, their math and spelling skills only get exercised in the school setting.
The first summer vacation appeared because the farm children have time off to help work in the fields in the high growing season, but this reason is no longer valid since fewer kids actually work on farms today. Some cities in the United States, such as Los Angeles, have moved to a year-round school calendar, which will bring less influence in their studies. Most cities still use the normal nine and a half-month calendars. To improve skills and to have a good level of preparation, experts suggested trips to museums, summer camps, and visits to libraries to keep kids active and interested the whole summer.
There are other educational systems that provide vacations while still keeping students' skills in a high level. For example, in Japan students attend classes for seven weeks continuously, followed by two weeks of vacation. This continues to go through all the year. In Italy, students attend classes six days per week, but finish at 1:30 p. m. each day, so that school does not manage their life the way that it does in America.
Educational experts fear that the three-month summer vacation stops the continuity of learning. Just as students get used to new ways in reading, writing, or critical thinking skills, then the summer vacation comes, they shut down for a long period. When they go back to school after the vacation, they take up to two months to return to their previous level of understanding. And so the debate continues: whether to continue the present vacations or to seek changes.
