Some students think that summer is a time to be lazy and careless. A time to shut off the school switch in their brains, but in reality, summer is a great time to get things out of the way for the school year. Whether it be bulking up a resume, working on service hours, or getting that summer reading list read, it is a far better use of a student’s time to be productive, rather than wasting time on a useless screen. However, perhaps the smartest thing for a student to do over their summer is to take summer classes.
By taking summer classes, it does not need to be getting ahead in core classes just to be at a higher level during the school year, or taking the hardest classes possible just to challenge oneself. Don’t forget, summer is still a students’ prime time to relax. Summer classes are generally one month long, so it is important to keep in mind that normal length classes are crammed into month long classes over the summer, so perhaps taking AB calculus over the summer is not the smartest idea. What is a great use of a students’ time, however, is taking P.E. and personal finance/economics. Both of these classes are required credits in order to graduate, P.E. for two years and personal finance/economics for one year. These classes are perfect to get done over the summer while not wasting course slots with them over the school year.
Along with them being manageable classes to do over the summer, overall, the work is not too difficult. Though these classes can be a lot of work, it does not really require too much brain power over the summer. If these classes are in students’ schedules over the normal academic school year, they just waste precious time in the year where students could be taking more classes related to what they are interested in, or taking AP classes. These classes are over in a month, and a great way to get these mandatory, yet easy classes out of the way. Whether a student splits these classes up over a couple summers in their high school career, or knocks them out in year one, this is a great use of the summer time without rotting students’ enriched brains from the school year and turning them into mush from an overdose on screens from the summer.
Though ultimately a student’s choice, FCPS offers countless classes over the summer that can help a student get those credits out of the way. Maybe even considering electives over the summer is a smart choice for some students. Despite a student’s decision, using summer time wisely is the best decision a high school student can make. Learning is just like learning anything a student would do in their years in high school, like sports. An athlete can’t just stop practicing over the summer just because they don’t have an official practice, because when they come back to the sports prime season, they will be out of shape. It’s the same with enriching minds and enhancing academic performance. If a student stops over the summer, they will start to forget how to study and excel in a class. Students, use your summer wisely!