Dubai
Whether the summer break is long or short, learning – in the real sense of the word — never stops, especially for children.
While there is a phenomenon called summer learning loss backed by research, academician Jenny Gonzales from the United International Private School Dubai said this learning loss depends on the curriculum and what the child does during the summer break.
“In some curricula, children are already used to having summer classes from KG to elementary and high school that are purely academic in nature. So it’s not a loss but actually a gain for the children to prepare them for the coming school year,” Gonzales told Gulf News.
Reacting to Cooper’s 1996 research, which says a long summer break affects children’s retention of their Math and spelling skills, Gonzales said this is understandable.
“When it comes to math subjects, most students are not interested in math that’s why during summer, they have this mindset that they’re on their summer break — that includes a break from a subject they struggle with.”
“It’s not really about forgetting the lessons but about the student’s interests. If the child is interested in Science, for example, definitely he or she will not forget but will research or even read up on it. If his or her particular interest is Math, he or she will do the same. When it comes to the child’s weaknesses in other subjects, that’s where teacher and parental intervention should come in,” she added.
- Jenny Gonzales, Academic
Gozales said their school follows the Knowledge and Human Development Authority’s school calendar and as such the break is as prescribed by local authorities.
Every day a child is on a holiday is an opportunity to learn, Gonzales said.
“Personally, I don’t believe in “idle time” because if the children are being exposed to a lot of learning opportunities – their interest is stirred. We cannot restrict learning to the four corners of the classroom. Outside school, parents acts as their teachers and they have a big role in moulding the mind and interests of the child.”
Just as adults have their holiday from work and some forget work-related stuff for a while, it will all come back after a short refresher. The brain works that way anyway.
“Children know that the summer holiday, regardless of the length, is their rest time. This is the time for them to learn outside the classroom context and learn about life and other things such as swimming, baking, anything that can stimulate their mind.”
“They need this time to play, time to explore, time to rest, and most especially, time to be kids.”
