Back to Class? Not So Fast

I’m still trying to figure out when it was decided that the back-to-school season begins the day after the 4th of July. The first day of school has been steadily creeping earlier and earlier into August for years now, but only recently does it seem to have hijacked summer vacation almost entirely.

Summer, at least as I understand it, unofficially runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. We’re supposed to be allotted a full three months when, in theory at least, we can spend every day lounging at the pool and, more importantly, wearing white jeans whenever we want without committing fashion suicide.

The official start of summer arrives with the Summer Solstice around June 20 or 21, and the Fall Equinox – which officially concludes the summer season – occurs in late September. Note how the month of August is nowhere to be found as an end date in either of these equations.

According to Kathy Grannis, spokesperson for the National Retail Federation, summer’s untimely demise is not just in my head. Back-To-School Creep is a real phenomenon – and it’s getting worse. “In seven and a half years, I’ve never once seen so much emphasis put on back-to-school before July 4,” she recently told AdAge.com.

Buying school supplies in June and July? Suddenly, summer vacation is over before it has even managed to begin. It would be easy to blame the big box retailers for all of this – especially since their blatant inability to correctly identify seasons (hello, Christmas displays in October) is widely acknowledged.

Personally, though, I think the fault lies elsewhere. Who exactly decided that the new school year should kick off during August anyway? I’m not trying to point fingers, and I’m sure the powers that be have their own specific reasons for torturing us all with a school year that no longer starts after Labor Day.

But as a parent, I have a laundry list of reasons why school absolutely should NOT be starting at any point during the month of August.

1. August is HOT.

As in, like, the hottest month of the year. There are statistics to prove this. So of course it makes perfect sense to pack our kids into barely air-conditioned school buses and send them out for recess in 100+ degree heat. Or keep them in to protect them from the heat, thereby forcing them to spend entire summer days indoors – instead of cooling off at the pool. Either way, kids lose. And speaking of the pool….

2. You can’t take toddlers and preschoolers to the pool during the day once school begins.

Some might call this complaint trivial, but I’ve always been annoyed that, once school begins, the public pools don’t open until 4 in the afternoon. I understand that lifeguards go back to school too and staffing becomes an issue, but pools are supposed to be open through Labor Day. All day. Every day. That’s tradition. Summer doesn’t end in the middle of August just because school started. Except that now it totally does.

3. It makes buying back-to school clothes far more difficult.

Trying clothes on squirming, uncooperative kids is unpleasant under the best of circumstances, but even more so when you’re buying jeans in the middle of July. Not to mention that, in addition to fall clothes, your kids now need summer clothes for those first few hot weeks of school. And I don’t know about you, but I always seem to find myself buying new summer clothes too, because last year’s warm weather wardrobe is inevitably outgrown.

4. Teachers start the year even earlier than their students.

We talk about how awesome it is for teachers to have summers off, but in reality, most put in many hours of (unpaid) work in preparation for the upcoming school year. An earlier start date for students means an even earlier start date for educators, leaving them less time to prepare, less time to spend with their own families, and fewer opportunities for professional enrichment. Is this really what we want for the people who dedicate their lives to teaching our kids?

5. No end of summer family vacations or late summer discounts.

Coordinating family vacations is rarely simple, but it’s even harder when you can no longer plan to travel during the month of August. Family members without children often don’t understand, and you can’t take advantage of the awesome rates and discounts that tend to pop up at the end of the season. Schools that start in August are out of sync with the ENTIRE REST OF THE COUNTRY, which seems to understand that summer lasts at least through Labor Day.

6. Kids (and parents) need a break.

I’m a big proponent of embracing education that takes place outside the classroom. And while you can argue that kids are getting out of school earlier and summer vacation is technically the same length as it always was, it’s those final lazy days of August that have been taken away from us that I find myself missing the most.

In our family, we’ve finally finished summer camps and swimming lessons, and we’re relishing the opportunity to stay up at night, sleep late in the morning, and come and go on various adventures without worrying about things like homework and tardy slips. We’re finally in a relaxed summer rhythm, and instead of being able to enjoy it, I find myself thinking things like “Are the immunization records updated?” and “Where can I purchase a protractor?”

For us, summer will be over all too soon when my daughter heads back to school on August 15th. Despite my frustration, I’ll be there with bells on to see her begin the 4th grade. But, because Labor Day is still weeks away, I’ll also be the one wearing the white jeans.

Consider it my form of silent protest.