A few days ago the bell is silent. The classrooms resign themselves to the immobile solitude in the summer heat, interrupted only by some recovery course, by the meetings of the teachers and the commitments of the exams.
The summer holidays started.
There is not even time to breathe the end of the stress linked to homework, questions and checks, that a new cloud of concerns thickens on the heads of parents and students: holidays, summer tasks and slalom among the working commitments in the management of children’s free time.
Let’s face a journey into the summer concerns of students, parents and teachers looking for a balance capable of promoting psychological well -being under an umbrella.
Holidays: the student point of view
Our country boasts the longest summer school interruption in the European context (Asquini & Sabella, 2015). For years there has been discussion of reforms that include a longer school during the summer months (at least as regards the month of June) and greater holidays during the year. While the political and pedagogical debate continues, which benefits they can draw students from Suspension of lessons?
- need for rest and regeneration: the summer holidays are certainly useful for breaking the routine made of homework, deadlines, checks and questions by promoting the recovery of physical and mental energies;
- Greater free time: the absence of cadenced commitments can allow to deepen personal interests, travel, learn and experiment with social skills in relational contexts other than the school one, experience spaces of autonomy and independence;
- boredom: often feared, this emotion is very precious. If welcomed and crossed it pushes to creativity, fantasy, motivates and pushes to change the situations by promoting adaptation (Ellena, 2011);
- the possibility of Manage the daily routine differently: going to sleep later in the evening, managing the morning awakenings, time for tasks and for different activities, can favor organizational skills and autonomous choice.
The presence of Holiday homework It can create more than one scratcher. The prolonged holiday period can in fact cause a loss of learning, especially in students with special educational needs (Asquini & Sabella, 2015).
For this reason keep thetraining with learning tasks can be important. From the point of view of the students, however, it is undeniable that it is a “limitation of freedom of vacation”, a sort of law that is acquired with the sound of the last bell in the period of default before the subsequent Trillo Settembrino.
Also on this topic often struggles. Finding a balance is not simple. Activities that stimulate interests, the autonomous organization, maintain learning without being excessively heavy, could be a good compromise.
Holidays: the point of view of teachers
In the common imagination, teachers’ work is coveted for abundant free time.
Those who have imagined holidays from early June to mid -September will however be disappointed. The month of June is full of appointments related to meetings, bureaucratic duties, exams and training. In some cases, especially for those who are busy with high school exams, the activities continue also in July. From the end of August we start again with teacher colleges, training and planning of the new year.
Furthermore, an aspect that accompanies, as with all the relationship works, also that of the teacher, is often underestimated. It is the mental space to be reserved for students. The summer emails by pupils and pupils who ask for educational indications, but also the possibility of being listened to and designed are not rare at all.
Holidays: the parents’ point of view
There is no time to cheer up for the escaped danger of the report card that is immediately invaded by a series of practical and beyond problems.
Among the main causes of stress for parents during the summer holidays we can underline:
- stress related to the management of work commitments, times and activities: although summer boys and summer centers try to guarantee the widest possible coverage, the times can differ from the school ones with consequent reorganization of the daily routine;
- economic aspects: summer activities and holidays have demanding costs that become a source of concern or inadequacy for parents in difficulty in supporting them;
- The need to cope with a greater leisure time can request the increased presence of grandparents and relatives consequently stress linked to different educational visions and the concern of be judged;
- To all these elements that can encourage the onset of parental burnout, the Holiday homework: The thought of ending activities and exercises by September can determine tension in the family unit with continuous bickering and a sense of impotence towards the opposition of children to requests to quickly exhaust the didactic duties.
How to deal with stress from holiday homework?
The theme of tasks is present throughout the school year and reappears as a sentence also in the summer. How to survive the continuous arm wrestling with their children not really enthusiastic about the idea of spending time in the company of books and notebooks?
- there ability to organize commitments and times represents a competence to be developed and increased. Support and help to maintain a constant commitment It does not mean replacing children in educational activities. If ending the tasks is not important for them, it will certainly not become it if we will intervene to “save” them taking pens and colors in hand. Educate to the choice, commitment and assumption of responsibility passes through the acceptance of the risk that in September we present ourselves with non -finished tasks. A possible note is not a negative judgment with respect to parental skills, but a precious opportunity to reflect on the consequences of one’s decisions;
- we are looking for theAlliance with the teachers Not discrediting the choices relating to homework in front of the boys (always too many or too few). We are looking for a constructive dialogue asking them for advice and concerting one common line (for example by sharing an approach aimed at empowerment that provides for the possibility for the boys to take the consequences with respect to the decision not to do or hurt the tasks);
- support the organization of work Based on times and deadline, mainly encourage interests;
- try Avoid to saturate the time available with a amount of commitments such as to cancel the space for study, reading and in -depth analysis;
- If possible organize within the holidays Activities that stimulate artistic and cultural interests of the boys giving concrete experience of what he learned (a visit to a museum or a art gallery can reinforce the idea of the usefulness of studying history, literature or art). In this regard, literature shows an increasing involvement of the boys as actors in the process of choosing the holiday destinations (Maeran & Fontana, 2009).
“Mom, what a boredom”: what activities to propose to the boys?
The availability of time can induce to think that the boredom be a risk to avoid.
Instead it is from one resource to be found. Boring he pushes to refine creativity and fantasy.
Not all the time of the holidays must necessarily be filled with activity. Can be precious leaving empty to be filled With the games in the courtyard, the reading of the books, the invention of creative pastime, the relationship with friends, perhaps some small jobs.
Activities such as summer children, summer camps, sports weeks are certainly useful for promoting family management, the possibility of socialization, comparison with educational and growth environments. Next to these safe spaces it may be important free times Where promote the ability to organization and the comparison with not having something to do.
Trying to tune in on values (what is important for me) and interests (what I like) can be useful from an early age. Finding contexts where these dimensions can be identified and in -depth can favor the well -being of children during the suspension of school activities. Otherwise there is the risk that the activities are suffered and turn into parking lots to spend time.
Free time or free: how to spend quality time on vacation?
The possibility of having a holiday period must not be experienced as a duty to be observed under penalty of the negative evaluation of one’s being a good parent.
The presence of economic difficulties can be addressed, far from feelings of inadequacy, making different choices. The holiday must not become a space in which to search for experience at any cost.
Choice education also passes through the limit. The risk is to create distortions in the perception of what should be free time and not freed from daily working routine in the obsessive search for “instagramable” spaces and times.
Let’s try to start from simple questions:
- What do we like to do?
- What resources (times and money) do we have available?
- Which rhythm do we want to adopt?
- What do we find really relaxing and pleasant?
The boys will receive important benefits from this “holiday pedagogy” (Fasan, 2023). If, for several reasons, there is no possibility of starting, we can opt for interesting alternative solutions: day in the pool, walk to the sea, at the lake or in the mountains, visit to museums and places of art (moreover always free on the first Sunday of each month), simple days in forest parks or in the green areas of the cities, visit to festivals or recreational and cultural proposals offered by countries and associations.
In short, less influenced and more interested could be an excellent slogan to be transferred to our boys, often dazzled by social lives made of cocktails by the pool and breathtaking skyline.
Holiday or be free!
We conclude by reflecting on the term vacation. Derives from the Latin vacantia what does it mean be free, empty. Etymology seems to underline the profound essence of this period.
We need an empty space to devote to rest, to our interiority, to what we like, to what is important for us and makes us feel good. Let’s try to cut out the quality time in which Suspend work and homework To devote ourselves to recovery.
Weeks in exotic locations or days to spend with the opportunities offered by our territory, the important thing is not to chase experiences that risk emptying instead of enriching (Lavarini, 2005).
For those who, like children, overlook important choices (for example, to manage educational commitments during summer suspension), it is a reflection of great pedagogical importance. Also in this way the process of self -knowledge is supported in young people by promoting autonomy and independence useful for facing summer free time. After all, if the holidays also become a source of stress, we just have to cry.
