School’s out for Summer
Growing up, I was not a heavy metal music fan. I didn't necessarily dislike it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it. Yet one song everyone loved in June and July was Alice Cooper’s "School's out for Summer". Truer words had never been spoken (or sung). In New England, we had a summer vacation encompassing part of June, all of July and August, and even a few days into September. No school, no classes, no homework, no learning. The extended break from education was great back then but sadly isn't necessarily a smart idea for everyone right now.
As I've pointed out in numerous blog posts prior to this one, math learning in school has been a tremendous disappointment the past two years. Covid disruptions, remote and hybrid learning, extended breaks from the classroom, and testing that wasn’t proctored are all reasons why students didn't receive a solid math foundation during each of the past two academic years. Yet, if you look at students' report cards, there are still plenty of good grades, and that's a problem because parents might just be unaware how little math education their child received over the past 16 months. Many students didn't learn much in Algebra 1 last year (yet received good grades) and they'll be taking Algebra 2 in only a few weeks. Next year's curriculum assumes that incoming students know (maybe don't immediately remember, but ultimately know) all the topics covered in last year's class. And sadly they won't, regardless of the grade that showed up on their end of year report card.
Summer learning isn't a luxury for some, but instead a necessity for most. It doesn't have to be onerous: you don't need a formal program or in-class instruction. There are plenty of good books on Amazon and videos on YouTube. Curriculum can be found on most school district websites. Doing some math - almost any math - is a move in the right direction.
I strongly encourage families to put even a minimal amount of effort into reviewing math from last year in preparation for the upcoming class. The day of reckoning is coming; students who earned a B by remote-cheating their way through last year's class are only a few months away from their first in-person math class, taking an exam with only a paper and pencil on their desks, in a classroom closely monitored by a teacher. No distractions, no internet, no group chat to help. Good luck with that.