Katie Babbitt
When summer comes around a lot of students don’t think of school but that idea needs to be questioned. While traditionally students see summer as a time to take a break and do their own thing this time could also be more utilized.
A study from 2004 by John Hopkins University shows how exacerbated achievements in the learning environment become because of summer break. That’s not to say a break isn’t a good thing but when you take a long one it has repercussions. Imagine a machine that only goes faster the more it’s used: that’s the mind of a college student. By taking this break you are losing all that momentum you’ve built up over the course of the semester.
Summer courses are available at Del Mar every semester, which attests to this learning gap. The summer courses Del Mar provides are called Rapid Track, six weeks of the same class(es) from Monday through Thursday. Academic material sticks with students because they listen to the same teacher(s) four days a week.
Thanks to summer courses students can either take the hardest classes or the easiest. If they choose to take the harder classes now it will help them consistently learn the material. Alternatively, if students choose to take the easier classes now it leaves needed time for the harder ones during the fall and spring.
As long as students keep their minds going in some way the machine will not stop. Before college when summer classes came to mind it was reserved for making up classes that you failed during the year. This time in college is not the same at all. We all move at our own pace so we each control how we personally learn. Because of this aspect students don’t have a lot of room to complain about academics. Yes, it is one thing to have a bad teacher or a hard time but when students control every aspect of education it’s moot. After all, no one wants to stay in college longer than they have to. Taking at least one class over the summer gets you closer to finishing your degree plan. It feels foolish to even ask why students wouldn’t take advantage of it.
