This post appeared originally on Forbes.com. To my friends who send their children to sleep away camp (and others in that boat), bear with me and read the whole piece (or, better yet, the book From Reopen to Reinvent)! You’d still have that option in the ideal “no one-size-fits-all” system.
Thanks for taking this on as I have always wondered about summer brain drain, unequal access to summer programming, and the inefficiencies of our school calendar. Incidentally, I have also always found it a bit funny that since the advent of asphalt, somehow cities are magically 10 degrees hotter than surrounding countryside or shorelines. There is always some excuse (Philadelphia is in a stagnant Valley! The prevailing southerly summer wind over NYC blow hot, etc.) but its simply the lack of greenery. I imagine the Romans had this issue too, so its not just the fault of asphalt and glass. Still, if we could replace empty big box retailers, burned out store fronts and empty city lots with trees, imagine how much nicer our cities could be.
Thanks for taking this on as I have always wondered about summer brain drain, unequal access to summer programming, and the inefficiencies of our school calendar. Incidentally, I have also always found it a bit funny that since the advent of asphalt, somehow cities are magically 10 degrees hotter than surrounding countryside or shorelines. There is always some excuse (Philadelphia is in a stagnant Valley! The prevailing southerly summer wind over NYC blow hot, etc.) but its simply the lack of greenery. I imagine the Romans had this issue too, so its not just the fault of asphalt and glass. Still, if we could replace empty big box retailers, burned out store fronts and empty city lots with trees, imagine how much nicer our cities could be.