The Summer Slide

Summer is a time to relax, enjoy the sun and spend time with your loved ones. For
students, it’s a well-deserved break from a long year of schooling. This is extremely
beneficial because it allows students to recoup and focus on their hobbies which is
crucial for their mental wellbeing, however a major consequence of the summer
holidays, academically speaking, is the ‘Summer Slide’. The summer slide, or summer
learning loss refers to the idea that kids experience significant learning loss during the summer holiday, this affects all students.

Numerous studies have shown that summer learning loss is prevalent in society. For
example, NWEA found that summer learning loss becomes more severe as we progress through school, in addition American Education research journal published a study in 2020 stating that over 5 summers, 52% of students in grade 1 through 6 lost 39% of their total school year gains. It’s clear to see why we experience summer learning loss, so we should focus on how to prevent and minimise it.

Many parents decide to play the role of the teacher and put their children’s education in their own hands. Teaching your child can restore potential losses in educational gains. this can come in the form of occasionally playing interactive learning games, watching informative videos, and reading books they have picked out for themselves. This is most effective when it presented as fun, otherwise you’re unlikely to see engagement from your child for example participating in summer reading challenges or listening to audio books whilst on long car trips.

Another solution for summer learning loss is summer schools, these are institutions that focus on the continuation of young people’s education even when schools are closed. These are for all ages, and many enlist family members as part of the staff to teach children. Summer schools are useful because many offer unorthodox methods of teaching, like reading tips to improve literacy, which help lessons to be interactive and prevent boredom.

For some people, summer is a time to explore their local area. Children spend most of the year couped up in classrooms, therefore an effective way of tackling summer
learning loss can be to visit museums, zoos, and galleries. Activities such as these are useful because children can get out of the house while simultaneously learning new information about the world around them, reducing the amount of educational gain lost as they return to school. On the other hand, there are now also virtual field trips (Global Trek, Google Lit trips etc.), meaning that you child can explore the world around them from the comfort of their home if physically travelling isn’t possible.

Organization is a life skill everyone must learn, instilling organization in students will
contribute to tackling summer learning loss because the loss of total educational gains over the year can be linked to a lack of coordination. This makes logical sense, schools provide young people with timetables, schedules, and calendars which in turn bring order to their life, this forces your child to constantly be learning and revising. You can help your child to be organised through calendar apps or gifting them a planner to help them stay organised and keep their mind sharp, giving your child projects to work towards can also keep them organised. As the new school year approaches, back to school shopping can encourage children to be more interested in their education as anticipation for the new year will be high.

Ultimately different methods benefit different children, so it is crucial that you talk to
your child to identify their interests and use them to tackle the summer slide.