Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Final Essay By Jayke Stump 1/19/11
Final
For many students, summer is fun and freedom. While more privileged student travel and visit museums, libraries and summer camps. Many low income students are stuck at home and fall behind in their education during the 3 moth break. Studies have shown that when students continue studying and learning during the summer, they improve in reading, math and science. Because of this, educational reformers, with the contribution of their community and philanthropies, have began to establish summer enrichment programs where less privileged students can increase their academic skills and knowledge while also having fun. A different model then traditional education and one that involves the idea of stealth learning.
I agree with David's point of view because , I can see just how beneficial summer learning programs can be. Speaking form my own experiences over summer, I typically don't do anything at all even remotely related to any type of higher learning over my summer breaks. In my opinion summer learning programs, although small and far between are making a great strides in stoping the summer learning loss. Students in these programs continue to show better grades then those students that do not participate in any summer learning programs. I know first hand the success of these programs having been in one when I was younger. I was struggling in math and reading so my mother enrolled me in a summer learning program. I went in thinking I was just going to another form of summer school but when I was done I had improved my math and reading skills exponetiay.What the students in these programs don't realize is that aside from learning math and science they are unknowingly laying the foundation for the future, for all the kids that will follow them.
Although many kids are taking part in summer learning programs their are still a lot of kids that can't or wont attend these programs. Even if wanted, not all communities cant afford to have summer learning programs. In low income areas summer learning programs are out of the reach of kids that really need them. Unfortunately, some kids view any type of school over summer break as a form of punishment and are unwilling to partake in them. Many kids have grown to familiar with the lazy and lay back attitude that comes with summer.Unwilling and unmotivated these kids can lose up to a month of knowledge that they have learned in the previous year in the three months that summer break consists of. These kids are in for a rude awakening when they enter the real world of working year round with no three month break.
Many people stand firm at the idea that summer is a time to be a kid and not a time for school but, who says you can't have both. Although summer learning programs take a portion of the day ,there are still many hours to go find a buried treasure or take a quick trip to the moon. Besides summer learning programs are fun. I know when kids see the word "learning" they also see the word "boring" but, thats just not the case. Instructors in these programs use "stealth learning" to teach the kids while retaining the fun that the kids enjoy. Wether it be bouncing a basketball to explain physics or going fishing and weighing and measuring they catch to help promote math skills. With more and more programs opening up their are countless new activities to teach the kids but, also have fun. Who says you can't be a smart kid.
Summer learning programs are here to stay and with any luck, flourish. I hope more and more students start to see how these programs can help their life's. The only way to have a better tomorrow is to start building it today and thats what I think these programs are trying to do. The kids join these programs and see amazing results, thus when they in turn have kids of their own they will remember how they were helped and how fun its was and enroll their kids because were only as good as what we leave behind for the future.
For many students, summer is fun and freedom. While more privileged student travel and visit museums, libraries and summer camps. Many low income students are stuck at home and fall behind in their education during the 3 moth break. Studies have shown that when students continue studying and learning during the summer, they improve in reading, math and science. Because of this, educational reformers, with the contribution of their community and philanthropies, have began to establish summer enrichment programs where less privileged students can increase their academic skills and knowledge while also having fun. A different model then traditional education and one that involves the idea of stealth learning.
I agree with David's point of view because , I can see just how beneficial summer learning programs can be. Speaking form my own experiences over summer, I typically don't do anything at all even remotely related to any type of higher learning over my summer breaks. In my opinion summer learning programs, although small and far between are making a great strides in stoping the summer learning loss. Students in these programs continue to show better grades then those students that do not participate in any summer learning programs. I know first hand the success of these programs having been in one when I was younger. I was struggling in math and reading so my mother enrolled me in a summer learning program. I went in thinking I was just going to another form of summer school but when I was done I had improved my math and reading skills exponetiay.What the students in these programs don't realize is that aside from learning math and science they are unknowingly laying the foundation for the future, for all the kids that will follow them.
Although many kids are taking part in summer learning programs their are still a lot of kids that can't or wont attend these programs. Even if wanted, not all communities cant afford to have summer learning programs. In low income areas summer learning programs are out of the reach of kids that really need them. Unfortunately, some kids view any type of school over summer break as a form of punishment and are unwilling to partake in them. Many kids have grown to familiar with the lazy and lay back attitude that comes with summer.Unwilling and unmotivated these kids can lose up to a month of knowledge that they have learned in the previous year in the three months that summer break consists of. These kids are in for a rude awakening when they enter the real world of working year round with no three month break.
Many people stand firm at the idea that summer is a time to be a kid and not a time for school but, who says you can't have both. Although summer learning programs take a portion of the day ,there are still many hours to go find a buried treasure or take a quick trip to the moon. Besides summer learning programs are fun. I know when kids see the word "learning" they also see the word "boring" but, thats just not the case. Instructors in these programs use "stealth learning" to teach the kids while retaining the fun that the kids enjoy. Wether it be bouncing a basketball to explain physics or going fishing and weighing and measuring they catch to help promote math skills. With more and more programs opening up their are countless new activities to teach the kids but, also have fun. Who says you can't be a smart kid.
Summer learning programs are here to stay and with any luck, flourish. I hope more and more students start to see how these programs can help their life's. The only way to have a better tomorrow is to start building it today and thats what I think these programs are trying to do. The kids join these programs and see amazing results, thus when they in turn have kids of their own they will remember how they were helped and how fun its was and enroll their kids because were only as good as what we leave behind for the future.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
1/6/11
Main points:
-West builds on a theme
-surrounded by sub-themes
-the community supports the program
-stealth learning
-more then half of the student improve by a letter grade
Summary:
Students in the Corbin program build on a theme every summer by going on field trips like fishing and swimming, but in the midst of all the fun, the students are promoting health and fitness and learning math through a process that the educators like to call "stealth learning", in which more then half of the students participating in the program move ahead a full letter grade.
-West builds on a theme
-surrounded by sub-themes
-the community supports the program
-stealth learning
-more then half of the student improve by a letter grade
Summary:
Students in the Corbin program build on a theme every summer by going on field trips like fishing and swimming, but in the midst of all the fun, the students are promoting health and fitness and learning math through a process that the educators like to call "stealth learning", in which more then half of the students participating in the program move ahead a full letter grade.
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