The Struggles of Summer School
One of the best things about being a teacher is summer vacation. I doubt anyone looks forward to summer vacation as much as teachers do. June, July and August are the months we get to recharge our batteries, plan for the upcoming year, and just relax from the stress of squeezing a year’s worth of work into 9 months. I, especially, look forward to summer vacation because I get to stay home with my three children.
Although I love the summer and the time I get to spend with the kids, my joy is tempered by the fact that my youngest son is in an extended school year program (which is a polite way to say he goes to summer school) at the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired, CCVI. My wife and I chose to have him attend the CCVI this summer so that he can learn as much Braille as possible before leaving the CCVI next year and going on to the first grade (the CCVI only goes through kindergarten). Although Nathaniel has attended summer school in the past, this is the first year that he has recognized how “unfair” it is.
From the moment I wake him up in the morning, until I drop him off at the CCVI, all I here is how he doesn’t want to go to school, how he doesn’t like Braille, or how it is unfair that he has to go to summer school. Truthfully, I can’t blame him for thinking it is unfair. His older brother doesn’t have to go to summer school and his younger sister gets a break from day-care and they both get to stay at home with me. It is hard for him to understand why his brother gets to spend the day playing with friends while he has to go to school. He is indignant that we run errands, go on outings, or basically lounge around without him.
I try to explain to him that this is the best thing for him, that this is just the way things are, that he has to learn as much Braille as he can, but it only makes him resent summer school more. To make matters worse, his brother has begun to complain as well. We are limited on what we can do during the day because we have to drop Nathan off at school, get home in time for lunch and his sister’s nap, and then have to pick Nathan up in the afternoon. There really isn’t time to do much after we pick him up because of dinner and baseball practice. Ian thinks it is unfair that his “schedule” is cramped because his brother goes to summer school. The only one who isn’t complaining is my daughter. The only reason she isn’t is because she is two and doesn’t know what she is missing.
It isn’t even July yet and I am beginning to miss school already. I am being worn down by the constant barrage of complaints and anger, and I have yet to find a way to explain the situation to Ian and Nathaniel that doesn’t leave each more upset and resentful of the other. Ah, the joys of summer. When does school start?