In many countries, namely Western and Middle Eastern nations, primary and secondary schools tend to include at least two months of summer holidays in their curriculum. In this essay, I will discuss the pros and cons of this system of education and how it influences child development.
Primary and secondary schools – traditionally when children are aged between 6 and 15 years – can have a major impact on a child’s physiological and psychological development. In this period, children go through exponential growth, mainly during puberty, and it is undeniable that stress and social pressure can significantly hinder this growth. I would argue that it is a universal feeling among children that school is often a substantial source of that stress. A long summer holiday can help mitigate that stress by offering a period of rest to children, and a period to focus on their extracurricular activities and hobbies. This leads to higher satisfaction rates among them and arguably increases their productivity when they go back to school.
A counter-argument to the point made previously is that not all schools and curriculums are created equal. Some schools, while they have shorter summer holidays, include numerous extracurricular activities and resting periods that children can participate in during school hours. Supporters of this educational system argue that longer summer holidays can decrease children’s productivity by causing children to negatively associate school with tedious work and stress. They are of the belief that while studying can be stressful, it is still an essential part of their development; therefore, it is better to balance that stress with leisure time during school hours instead of separating it from school by having such long holiday periods.
To conclude, child development is a delicate process that is largely influenced by school, and it is essential to develop a curriculum that helps support this stage while maintaining a healthy exposure to studying. This can be done by either having longer summer holidays or by making school hours less demanding and more fun.