By Gordon Beinstein
As I take some time to compose a piece about the value of summer break for kids as well as for staff, I am reminded of the worst interview answer I ever heard. A candidate was asked, “Give us two reasons that lead you to a teaching career?” His answer – “July and August.” It might not have gotten the interviewee the job, but you have to respect the honesty! Every now and then people in positions of power who, as evidenced from some of their mind-numbing decisions, likely have not been in a school since they graduated high school decades ago, question the need for a summer break. After all, the school calendar as we currently know it is a holdover from the old agrarian schedule when kids could not be at school during the summer months as they were needed to tend to the crops. Not sure about any of you, but I haven’t seen a single Greenwich kid reaping or sowing in a while. While the rationale for this break from book learning has changed, the value of this time to ‘be a kid’ has not. In fact, I would argue it is more important than ever.
In our over-programmed society idleness is viewed as laziness, something to be frowned upon and remedied. Why? I believe there needs to be an opportunity to just do nothing. (And I mean Otis Redding’s ‘Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay’ nothing!) Kids simply need to go outside and play, ride a bike, throw a ball, even daydream, none of which should be orchestrated by a nearby well-meaning adult. I understand that after a day without a parent-created schedule, you are likely to hear ‘I’m bored’. This is our fault. Modern society views boredom as a problem that needs to be solved by an adult rather than an opportunity for the child to figure out how to best spend their time. Some of the best thinking happens when kids are ‘bored’. So take away their phone, iPad, or Chromebook. Block Fortnite, and Instaface ( I know it’s not really called that) and let them be ‘bored’. Rather than fix it, encourage it.
This is not to say the kids shouldn’t go to a camp, join a team, or even read a book. It is a long 10 weeks! While I am currently the very proud principal of Western Middle School, in my former life I was the director of Kamp Kairphree for many years and the duck-duck-goosechampion 12 years in a row! I appreciate the value of camps whether they are a typical ‘old school’ day camp like Kamp Kairphree or something more specialized like computer, sports, or music camp. These experiences provide opportunities that are based on child interest and, for many, are the highlight of the year. The summer months are also a great time for kids to enjoy their teammates on travel or local teams. I would just encourage you to find the balance. There should be some time for your children to do very little or even nothing preferably outside of your house and away from a screen. The last three months have provided you and your child with way too much of both of these options.
I’ll leave you with the opening lyrics from the aforementioned classic by the late, great Otis Redding:
Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun
I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ comes
Watchin’ the ships roll in
Then I watch ’em roll away again
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide, roll away
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’
time
Gordon Beinstein is the Principal at Western Middle School… #WestSideBestSide!
