Summer School by Choice

by Kori Rodley Irons | More from this Blogger

13 Jun 2008 11:26 AM

When I was young, summer school was the kiss of death-it was something you had to go to if you flunked a class or did poorly in the year and it was not a reality that anyone wanted their friends to know about. With my children's generation, however, summer school seems to be just another educational option and there are kids who take advantage of summer school to get ahead or to take electives that they do not have the time to take during the regular school year.

This summer my son is going to summer school by choice-he wants the structure in his summer and since it is only one month long (the month of July) he thinks it will be a fun way to gain some extra credits and get to take classes that he has chosen. Even though there is some additional expense, it seems to me like a perfectly reasonable and ambitious thing to do for part of the summer. The interesting thing is that he is not alone and there are several of his friends and several other kids that choose to take summer school. There are still those who HAVE to take it in order to make up credits, but there are so many taking it by choice that the classes fill up fast and kids get to the registration early in order to get the classes they want.

There is just something about doing something by choice, I think, that inspires people and teenagers are no exception. According to my son, it feels more like college-the classes are less rigid, they are more compact and he gets to look over the curriculum offerings and choose. As a parent, I do not want to do anything that might discourage a natural interest in learning-even if it does take a little out of the summer budget!

See Also: The EDUCATION Blog

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