Hooray for Summer Slide!
By Mark W.F. Condon, Unite for Literacy vice president
Every child is glad when school is out for the summer. Even those who love their academic lives anticipate this generous break.
While kids are eager for time off, many parents and teachers (school administrators, too) are filled with concern, fearful of the “summer slide.” They’re fearful that kids will forget large amounts of what they’ve learned during the previous school year. It is a universal challenge across all schools that have a two-month plus summer break that make educators ask, “Can anything be done to prevent backsliding?”
If you take a close look at the graphic above you will see that there is something that makes a difference. Note which kids beat summer slide and by how much. Kids who have access to books and read them advance in reading. Access to books makes an enormous difference!
Conversely, the impact of a lack of access to books is abysmal, especially for children without access to a local library or other non-school sources of reading material.
Let’s inspect this “Summer Slide” graphic more closely. It depicts three different groups of readers. The girl at the top represents children from families with limited income. They are less likely to have their own books; however, if they get access to a supply of appealing books to enjoy in the shade during the summer months, the blue line shows that they continue to progress dramatically across the summer.
Children like the boy in the middle have been blessed with families that have adequate resources for ensuring that there are always abundant books—whether borrowed or owned—in their homes. Like the students from low-income homes with access to books year round, children from high-income households also will experience growth in reading in the summer, a continuation of their predictably solid progress during the year.
The girl on the bottom represents children from homes with limited income and, unlike the other groups, no access to books. In the absence of delightful summer reading material, their reading capability will not continue to grow, but instead is likely to diminish over the summer. They are victims of “summer slide,” and while they may have been doing okay in school, their focus on and interest in reading is likely to sag.
However, if children have access to books or authors that inspire them, a shift can occur. Thanks to a terrific teacher, my nephew Leo went from being a reluctant reader, to a book lover. The teacher helped him find a series that fascinated him, and he was absolutely transformed. And after a summertime of reading self-selected books, he returned to school an even more confident and eager reader.
The message is clear and compelling. All children need and deserve access to books throughout the summer. Kids who read all summer long will return to school with an increased sense of confidence that is sure to make a difference.