I am sitting here writing to you all in hopes that everyone is safe and keeping cool. This weather is unbelievable, but I love it because it is smack in the middle of summer.
In case you have missed it, there has been a lot of baseball going on in town from Little League to Legion and even some great ball being played by some Westfield athletes in the Tri County League (catch Nick Noblit pitch if you haven’t in a while). Good luck to all of the Babe Ruth All Stars and softball teams who are still competing throughout the State. Westfield is baseball (and softball) country – don’t let anyone try and tell you otherwise.
I am currently packing my bags for Marietta, Georgia, where I am going to watch my son Chris and teammate Craig Lacey compete in the Cobb Tourney. It is one of the best in the country and we are so fortunate to be travelling and playing with kids from all over the world. Brian Barnowski from Southwick is coaching the team and he brings a unique focus from his experience from playing professional ball. What an exciting time for these two!
I have reached out to a local student writer to assist me this month. Melanie Fredette is going to be a junior at Westfield High School and she is very interested in writing for a career. Her dreams may take her to someday write for the Boston Globe and I am lucky to have her submit one of many articles to start her career right here in the Westfield News. She has selected an interesting topic because she is looking at what students do in the off season (summer months) while away from the academic life of a high school. Good Luck Mel.
The words “summer vacation” can have many different connotations, but for school age children, it simply means no school for two months. These hot days of summer that people yearn for all year long are finally here. The lingering question is how do students priorities differ during the summer compared to the school year? As a junior in high school, I am able to offer my own perspective on this topic.
From the end of August to the middle of June, students seem primarily concerned with grades, sports, and managing time for some sort of social life. In the summer months, some say the heat gets the best of us, but our lack of energy can mostly be attributed to late nights, summer work, and all the sunburns. Although it might seem to adults that kids do not have much to do in the summer, they still set personal goals for themselves and may have other responsibilities, as well. During the long 180 days of school, students organize their most important considerations in different ways. While there are some students who may not seem to care about how well they perform in school, most prioritize their responsibilities into three basic categories: academic achievement, athletics and other extracurricular activities, and spending time with friends and family.
Maintaining good grades requires time and effort. This could include studying, homework, and any additional assistance, such as after school help class or tutoring. Students spend most of their time preparing for tests and quizzes and doing any work assigned by the teachers.
Along with academics, sports also play an important role in the lives of children, as well as the community. Some students are involved in sports for every season, throughout the year. Many kids are juggling a full course load, a job, sports and some other activity like art or music. Being involved in any of these activities creates a sense of time management and teamwork. While school and sports occupy so much time for many children, it is important for kids to be able to spend some time with friends and family and just have fun.
Summer break can have its positives and negatives for both adults and kids. Some people may think that teenagers, such as myself, do not have many responsibilities during the months of summer. In reality, there are many different tasks that are performed by kids during the summer that guide a different set of priorities. As children get older, the workload during summer increases, preparing them for the workforce that will be entered someday. Many kids have summer jobs, bagging groceries, cashiering, helping family members with a business, or any other way to possibly earn some money. If summer work does not mean a paid position, it could also be the work from any honors or advanced placement course that a child plans to take in the upcoming school year.
Don’t get me wrong, not spending multiple hours each day worrying about passing your next algebra test is definitely a relief that I enjoy during the summer. The days off from work or sports is when the summer vacation can really be experienced. In my opinion, those late nights, sleeping all day, driving around, and lounging by any pool that you and your friends can find, are what summer for kids is truly all about.
Adults may look forward to summer and planned vacations for the short amount of time that they can escape their jobs and some of the monotony of everyday life. Most young children are happy all summer long, no matter what they are doing, whether they are on the beach or running around, sweating in the park. Teenagers have two short months to set their own schedules and just have fun. As some teenager’s priorities take a little hiatus during these hot months of summer, most, like a seasonal wardrobe, just get rearranged as new opportunities are presented.
