Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Article Review: Retooled Summer Schools


Motoko Rich, writer for the New York Times, takes the time to investigate new style of summer school being implemented by many large school districts.  These programs are not for students who have failed to reach a certain academic level.  The fear is that many students are in danger of falling behind over the summer, so these programs are set up to help keep students, specifically those from a disadvantaged background, at a level playing field.  Research shows that students fall back a month academically during summer break.  Nikolai Vitti, a superintendent at one of the schools, points out the sad reality that there are children who are “sitting at home, waking up at 11 in the morning, eating doughnuts, and watching cartoons.” 

The program runs six weeks for eight hours a day and contains no more than 15 students per class.  Studies include art, music, forensic science, marine biology, sailing, fencing, and karate lessons. The students have also gone on field trips to museums, theatres, the bowling alley, the movies, and a wildlife reserve.  A portion of the academics is similar to the regular school year; however there are other creative activities that the students are involved in.  For example, a group of fourth grade students met in the library to create scripts that would later be produced as a short film.  The teacher in charge of this entertaining activity states, “They don’t even realize that they are learning to write and present themselves while they are writing these scripts.”

These programs are funded by the Wallace Foundation, which is a private charitable organization that has donated $50 million for evaluation of academic results connected to summer school.  Starting this summer there are 5,700 fourth grade students involved in the program.  These students will have their standardized test performance and behavioral factors evaluated over at least a two year program.  Not only does the funding allow for several field trips, the teachers are also able to offer greater incentives, like an ice cream party for students with perfect attendance. 

Personally, I believe that this program is a great idea.  My daughter has a specialized education plan for reading and mathematics during the school year.  When we have our first IEP meeting the teachers always point out that they don’t have a lot of growth to show us, because most of the first month of school is review for the students from the previous year.  Within the education program we are constantly learning about time management.  If we are able to dedicate a portion of the summer to continuing students education the month of time could probably be greatly reduced. 

This program has been set up to help all students, but particularly students from disadvantaged backgrounds.  On page 47 in our textbook it talks about students who are at risk for school failure.  The book indicates that ethnicity, disability, and income all impact academic access and success.  The book points out that one of the goals should be to “provide the knowledge and skills to more effectively serve the learning needs of a wide range of students.”  I believe that this summer school program is an excellent example of a set of people going beyond what is required of them to help reach these at risk students. 

Research from the textbook on page 57 states that students raised in poverty needed a supportive adult within the lives.  The adult who believed in them and supported them was linked to their success.  Look at the impact that these teachers are going to making on these students who normally may have been in bed until 11 in the morning, eating doughnuts, and watching television.  The “warm demanders” within this program could mean the difference between the students having the desire to finish their education.  Students want teachers who care, and what better way to show that they care then to give up a portion of their summer and dedicate it to making a difference in these kids’ lives?

I love the idea of the teacher who took her writing lesson and turned it into an exciting activity involving writing a script and producing a short film.  The principal of this school pointed out that this type of engaging instructional activity should be what school is like all year long.  Page 248 of our textbook shares that research shows that “teachers who are more effective in enhancing students’ motivation to learn show an interest in and excitement about learning and model task-related thinking and problem solving.”  The teacher was enthusiastic about the activity, and the kids didn’t even realize that they were learning through the activity.  This is the type of attitude the teachers and students should have about school!

References

Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2013). Comprehensive Classroom Management (10 ed.). New Jersey: Pearson.

Rich, M. (2013, June 30). At Retooled Summer Schools, Creativity, Not Just Catch-Up - NYTimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/education/at-retooled-summer-schools-creativity-not-just-catch-up.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

4 comments:

  1. I agree, I think this is a great idea! I think that keeping kids involved for part of the summer helps reduce how much they "fall back" during the summer. I think that it would be beneficial to allow students to pick some of the activities that they would participate in during the summer so that they could chose things that were interesting to them. I think the only concern I would have is students that move a lot, would students that came from a "traditional schedule" feel behind in a school that had a summer term? How would we even that out? Or would we try?

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a classic example of a group of educators being proactive instead of just letting the system take its course. The whole program just made me feel like my kids missed out on great opportunity. The principal had some of the kids schedule. After reading your article it has made me reconsider my position on year round schooling and that may be the way to keep all students current. I thought the summer break is very needed but now I feel otherwise. I wonder if the article has inspired others to do the same thing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is a fantastic idea. I have argued that idea many times. I personally think that the lower 15% should have some form of education over the summer. Even if it is just a teacher following up or discussing reading materials. If teachers had to work every other summer 2 days a week this could be accomplished. What would you do over the summer to ensure your students are ready for the upcoming school year?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have long been a supporter of year round schooling; in fact, I did multiple reports on the advantages when I was in middle school and high school. Many studies have been conducted concluding positive benefits; there are very few draw backs. Some teachers argue against year round schooling for personal reasons, however, it may also benefit teachers not to have the long break in the summer. Do you think it to do year round schooling or do you think they need the 2-1/2 months for lesson planning? After all, if we as instructors cannot do well at our job, students will not succeed.

    ReplyDelete