Posts tagged with summer.

When summer camp isn’t really, well. . . camp

Kathy Dobson, May 11, 2010 at 3:34 PM

Kathy Dobson

 

My three youngest have started bringing home those pamphlets from school for summer camps. But as I quickly realized, my definition of 'summer camp' is outdated. Way outdated.

Instead of nature hikes, swimming, crafts, and boating, these campers will get to play with computers. All day long. Seriously. At this camp, there isn't any rock climbing or archery. Or even campfires with burnt marshmallows and hot dogs. Instead, there's Pac Man and Super Mario.

As far as I'm concerned, after a couple of weeks at summer camp, you're supposed to come back with a tan and freckles. But at this camp? I suspect the kids get a nice pasty complexion and a sensitivity to sunlight. And an aversion to all physical activity.

Thanks, but no thanks. My kids are already slaves enough to electronics.

They don't need to attend a camp where, for a couple hundred bucks, they can gather with other slaves, where they can all play video games together.

Instead of writing letters home to their parents, I suppose these campers will give updates on Facebook or Twitter. "Hey Mom and Dad. Played some more Halo and Super Smash Bros today. My skin is starting to glow in the dark."

Tagged with summer, camp, computers | Comments (13) |

The last exam before summer vacation

Jenny Mitchell, April 23, 2010 at 3:16 PM

Jenny Mitchell

I have one last exam standing between me and summer vacation.

 

Five school-free months. No homework, no readings. No nothing.

 

Yes, I'll be working, but there won't be that ever-present stress of worrying about when the next assignment is due, or preparing for an upcoming test or midterm.

 

You'd think that having summer vacation ahead of me would be a great incentive for studying for this final exam. But I'm actually having trouble focusing.

 

It's hard to put aside instant gratification, to not go out and have fun with friends who are already done with their exams. Instead I have to keep telling myself to be responsible and study. But I keep finding distractions, like suddenly needing to update Facebook every two minutes (Studying for Chem = SAVE ME :P) or rearrange the books and papers on my desk for optimizing studying efficiency.

 

I think students can have more trouble with winter exams than fall exams. It's because of the lure of those five months of vacation. The two weeks off in December after fall semester exams are great for recharging your school mentality. They help push you for another four months for the winter semester.

 

But it can be hard to focus on winter semester exams in April and May when you know you have a whole summer ahead of you. My last exam is a physiology lab exam; one hour, 40 multiple choice questions. I have to keep telling myself that just because this exam is my last, or that it's just an hour long, doesn't mean it'll be any easier or require less studying.

 

Maybe I'll post that as an update on Facebook to remind myself.

Tagged with studying, last, exam, summer | Comments (3) |