FAT WITH SUMMER

Back to school. Those three words used to be tantamount to students and parents. The kids didn't want to go. The parents couldn't wait. Now the school systems can't wait.

School starting before Labor Day has always been distasteful to me. So has year round school, though I taught year round for 20 years. Well, at least until noon in Summer months.

So why negativity about school year schedules? There's just so much that young kids and young adults learn when they're not in the school house. Especially in the Summer. And here's the list:

1. earning their first money

2. freedom to enjoy

3. getting a taste of the real world outside of classroom walls

4. letting their body function on their timetable (younger ones don't generally get going at 8:15 when most schools start, and they don't wind down until much later during the teen years)

5. pursuing an avocation

6. developing friendships (and avoiding those they tire of, simply because they see them day after day)

7. traveling, whether long distance or short

8. being outside

9. visiting relatives

10. making memories

By no means exhaustive, this list doesn't even mention important things like reading the Bible, having fun, getting a tan, learning or practicing swimming, getting in shape, running errands for the parents. But see what I mean?

And if you haven't figured it out, I want school to end at Memorial Day, too. With no make-ups for snow days. They're penalty enough.