School's Out For Summer!

A couple of weeks ago, I ran across this picture in the paper.

Just in case you can't quite tell, it's a photograph of a limo picking up elementary age kids on the last day of school. I'm not sure if the kid giving the peace signs got to ride in the limo or was just really excited for the "no more school, no more books" thing.

The next evening, my husband, Dan, and I walked by a neighborhood "School's Out!" party. I know this because of the multicolored "School's Out!" signs plastered all over the houses. This was not just any ordinary summer shindig with hamburgers and hot dogs. I think there were pony rides involved.

"These parents are spending a lot of money to celebrate the end of school," I told Dan. "I mean, you'd think elementary school was a prison or something." 

"It's like they're rewarding their kids for accomplishing nothing," Dan said. "Like, 'Yay! Good job on your last day!'"

"Actually, they should be throwing expensive parties for the teachers. A Congratulations on Surviving Party."

I'm not saying people shouldn't throw parties to celebrate the beginning of summer. I'm just wondering if the extravagance and the emphasis on NO MORE SCHOOL sends the wrong message.

I mean, parents, don't you want your kids to feel good about attending school? Trust me. You do. You'll thank me that you kept your kids excited about learning when spring fever hits in April.

Besides, are parents that excited to have their kids home for three months? Because by the end of the summer, I hear a lot of rumbling from parents in cyber land about wanting school to start, summer break is too long, why don't the schools keep the kids forever . . .

As a kid, I don't remember limo or pony rides for anyone on the last day of school. Maybe I attended a few backyard barbecues or birthday parties during the summer. But nothing with a Congratulations on Breaking Out of the Hoosegow theme.
 
I didn't have time for parties. My summers were filled with day care, swimming lessons, tennis lessons, music camp, church camp, VBS. As a teen, I'd often volunteer as a helper at these summer activities, or I performed in summer youth theater. And then, when I came of age, I was expected to hold down a summer job, the kind of job that made me long for school.

I loved school, not so much for the social aspect, but because I loved to learn. Even now, I take classes any chance I get. I became a teacher, an eternal attender of school.

I know not all kids love school, the kids for whom learning is not easy or particularly fun. But I seriously doubt these are the kids whose parents are renting limos and throwing lavish parties.

These are probably the kids who deserve a celebration. They truly have accomplished something. School was hard. And they made it through another year. 

Credit: Family Fun Magazine

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