The end of the school year has come and gone in a flash. In a previous post, we discussed why teachers need their summers off. In today’s post, we focus on student voices, as fourth graders share why students need their summers off too.
According to a group of fourth grade students, June, July, and August are the best months of all. It is beautiful outside. There is unscheduled time for kids to just be kids and play. And, there is no homework for three months. Here is what summertime is all about.
“Students need the summer off because during the summer they have freedom. They can go swimming or go to the beach and relax. Kids don’t want to be cooped up for 7 hours of the day, they want adventure.”
“Our brains should be able to rest because sometimes my head hurts after school.”
“We need to go outside and play or run and be so so crazy.”
“Without the summer off, students would overheat at recess.”
“In the summer, we don’t get stressed or have anxiety because of tests.”
“I think 4th graders need to have the summer off because they are probably tired. Your body needs rest. If you don’t give your body rest, you can get rude and cranky. Also, they are going into a bigger and harder grade. They need a break so when they go back to school, they can do good and not fail class.”
“Students can be more social with their parents because we’re not at school 7 ½ hours. They will also be more social to other kids because on summer break there is no homework, and homework is the reason kids can’t go over to other kid’s houses that often.”
“We have more time for chores and learn to work for things. This means students can also learn to save their money.”
“Students should have the summer off because we will learn how important math and the subjects you learn in school are out of school.”
“Students need summer off because we work hard all year trying to do our best on classwork. In summer you get to relax and not worry about getting an A, and people spend summer with their families. A lot of kids put a lot of focus on school. During summer, they can put their focus on having fun. Plus, we deserve it.”
“Kids need summer off because apparently we need a break from doing work. Even though we already get lots of breaks on weekends, morning and nights. I have no clue why.”
“So they can be wild!”
“To go on vacation to the beach or the desert.”
“They work hard for 180 days, they shouldn’t have to work more days.”
“If kids went to school every day, they would not try hard in school because they would just be bored all the time, and you want kids to be smart, right?”
“They need a break to get outside and have some fun and sleep in and play with friends and be active.”
“If you have school all year, you can’t do anything fun. Kids will be bored all year until they are 18 or something. And if they are in school for all that time, they probably won’t want to go to college, so they won’t get a good job.”
“Without summer off, when you see the Party City ads, then you may just start crying because they are so happy because school is out, but nope, not your school!!!