keeping our sharp
minds
“Mom, we are on summer break! Why do we have to do homework and it is summertime?” That was the question my siblings and I asked seemingly every summer because it was seemingly every summer that our mother had us working on academic projects. Sometimes, we would have to complete math assignments consistent with the information we either just learned the year prior or would be soon learning in the upcoming year. Other times, we would have to complete reading assignments and do reports on the reading assignments. As eloquently as I read, I came to dislike the reading assignments the most. We were required to read a book and provide a chapter by chapter summary on the book. My mother’s philosophy was that in order to keep our minds sharp, we had to regularly engage our minds. She believed that we had to review things we already knew, and delve into things that we did not yet know in order to keep our minds up to speed. She believed it was not simply the responsibility of the schools’ staff to keep us informed and sharp. She believed the parents, as surrounding influences, and the students themselves had a responsibility to keep themselves academically fresh. Many of us can attest to the fact that going to school after three months of summer break with no mentally engaging activities to revisit the information we previously learned, leaves us in a position to
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