Summer Vacation

In an article for the New York Times titled, The Families That Can’t Afford Summer, DJ Dell’Antonia wrote about the reality many low-income American families face during the 10- to 11-week summer vacation. “For most parents,” DJ writes, “summer, that beloved institution, is a financial and logistical nightmare.”

One reason why summer break is a nightmare for low-income families is its length: Summer vacation in America lasts longer than school breaks in many other developed nations. Australia and European countries, including Germany, the U.K., and the Netherlands, have a six-week break. Students in Japan enjoy roughly one month off from school. Low-income families in America simply cannot afford to keep their children mentally and creatively engaged for three consecutive months.

Many critics agree that the conversation surrounding summer break is flawed. For instance, the idea that the 10- to 11-week summer vacation originates from an agrarian calendar is a long-standing myth. Saskia De Melker and Sam Weber from PBS debunked this myth in a 2014 article for the publication:

Kids in rural, agricultural areas were most needed in the spring, when most crops had to be planted, and in the fall, when crops were harvested and sold. Historically, many attended school in the summer when there was comparatively less need for them on the farm…

Urban schools had a very different school schedule, but also included summer. School was essentially open year round, but was not mandatory, and children came when they could. In 1842, New York City schools were open 248 days a year, dramatically more than the 180 or so that they are open today…

By the late 19th century, school reformers started pushing for standardization of the school calendar across urban and rural areas. So a compromise was struck that created the modern school calendar.

Many critics of today’s school calendar take issue with the expense and achievement gaps that prevail among low-income students during summer break. A phenomenon known as summer learning loss has a negative impact on all kids, but is detrimental to low-income students. Experts say summer learning loss is one of the leading causes of the achievement gap between high-income and low-income children in the United States.

In an article for Slate, Elissa Strauss talked about the long-term effects of summer learning loss for low-income students:

Students whose parents don’t have the means to continue educating their children through the summer, whether through camp, one-on-one time, or summer learning programs, often return to school about one month behind in learning from where they left off the previous spring. This loss is cumulative and can result in low-income students being nearly a year behind by the time they complete their public school education. And that’s if they complete it at all: One study of 300 Baltimore students showed a link between the presence of summer learning loss and dropping out of school. Those with no summer learning loss were more likely to take college preparatory classes.

In order to combat summer learning loss, wealthier families may send their children to summer camp, which costs on average $271 a week for day camp, and $704 a week for sleepaway camp. “According to the American Camp Association, 70 percent of campers in their network come from middle- and upper-income households,” Strauss said.

There have been attempts to change to a year-round schedule. Educations have been working on this reform for over 50 years, but lack of air-conditioning in schools, cultural attachment to summer break, and long-standing ideas of too much school being bad for the brain have hindered the change in calendar.

Perhaps in another 50 years, we may see a shift in the school calendar, but for now, it looks like a long summer break is here to stay.