I'll Just Do it in Summer School

"I'll just do it in summer school,"  usually said with a shrug, those are words I have heard from high school students who are failing classes.  For some of them, a few minutes of work is the only thing keeping them from having to go to summer school.  After talking with the student, parents, special education teachers (if appropriate), and the guidance department to help the kid pass, but sometimes they still won't do the work necessary to pass.

Recently I may have figured it out.  Growing up in a house with a mother who was there anytime we needed her and  never having to worry about anything bad happening, I could not understand kids who would genuinely say they didn't want break to come. They not only dreaded the big breaks like Christmas, Spring Break and Summer, but also even having one day off. As a kid, from my perspective, those were the greatest days of the year.

They generally don't love school that much. A lot of them say they hate it, but the fact is that many kids need school for the routine, safety, security, meals and the good excuse not to be at home. It is great they have a place to go to feel safe and that they have had a positive enough experience in school to want to go for an extra month or two during the summer.

I am sure that there are more schools and students around the country who are playing his game.  The question is, what can be done to give students the same qualities as school, but also makes them better than kids who don't go to summer school.  Is it internships, sports, volunteering, a mentor, something else?  Instead of those kids feeling like they want to do summer school for a completely non-academic reason, can districts use their community connections to create a program or programs with the goal to propel kids forward rather than giving them more of the same they got during the school year.

Maybe if they knew they had a positive experience awaiting them in the summer, they would choose to pass their classes and also gain important life experiences during the same times that summer school runs.