Children In Tow Jennifer Ozgur is a mother, wife and teacher who still finds time to get out and about with the family I once had a friend say that life was like a roll of toilet paper; once you notice that it’s starting to go, it seems to keep running out faster and faster. I thought it was rather odd, but the metaphor stuck with me. I must humbly admit that I agree with the observation. With every passing year, I find that time seems to pass more and more quickly. Such is the case with the arrival of summer vacation. Maybe it’s because I had a really action-packed schedule this year, teaching three grades for the first time since my first year of teaching 13 years ago. Perhaps it has something to do with being able to mark time’s passing with the development of my ten-month-old son. Then again, whenever I small talk with my colleagues, it’s not just me who agrees that this school year has come and gone at warp speed–yet their situations are different. So it’s got to be the general sign of the times. Whatever the reason, we’re faced with drastically switching gears from rushing a micro-scheduled calendar to nine weeks of… what, exactly? I’ve always thought that a nine-week hiatus was too long of a mental break for the young mind. The intensity at which students learn material during the academic year comes to a grinding halt that is not conducive to the retention of concepts. I did a little online research to confirm the explanation of summer vacation. It’s more complicated than the commonly accepted idea of giving time off for the kids to help with the farming. (If that were the case, extended breaks should be during the spring planting and fall harvesting instead.) It’s actually due to cost-cutting reform, lack of air conditioning and fear of disease, and the antique notion that too much education could make one neurotic. Over a century later, we’ve overcome two out those three obstacles, yet those nine weeks remain vacant. So let’s try to fill that block of time with something constructive and bring ourselves into the 21st century, shall we? There are the traditional summer camps of the great outdoors, and I am a big fan. As a Girl Scout of ten years, I’ve got the patches that document my ability to start a fire, paddle a canoe, ride a horse and make way too many crafts involving sticks and yarn. Those two weeks of resident camp were never enough. But what to do with the remaining month and a half? How about what I like to call “smart camps?” Science Explorers offers day camps in the five-county area for kids from ages 4 to 11. Learning about the environment, physics and chemistry are among the subjects explored. Visit their website: ScienceExplorers.org. Young Writers camps offered by the PA Writing & Literature Project welcome all students who enjoy writing and reading. Sessions are held on the West Chester University campus and at 15 other locations throughout the region. Find details at www.pawlp.org. Summer is also a time for freedom and exploration. With the luxury of the amount of time available, I think it’s totally possible to embrace these ideas—both physically and mentally—before all those weeks go down the drain. jozgur@thewcpress.com
JUNE 2013 | thewcpress.com
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