How to study during the summer for failed subjects

BarcelonaThere is no doubt that summer is a time for rest and disconnection. The heat does not help with work, and studying while friends are at the pool is a more than complicated challenge, especially when there are no retakes in September. But if there are suspended (not achieved) subjects in the report cards and you want to start the course better than you finished it, many families consider combining the necessary rest and disconnection with this "catching up". How many hours should be dedicated each day? A private tutor or should we let them do it freely? Should other summer activities be given up? We talk to the managers of L’Acadèmia, a study center in Mollerussa that accompanies students all year round but which also has its doors open in the summer for all those families who find themselves in similar situations.

How do we organize summer if our son or daughter has failed subjects?

From the Academy, they recommend approaching it "as always". Therefore, they are in favor of maintaining summer camps, colonies or activities planned for this time but also including a review routine. "If the school or institute assigns work to be handed in after the summer, it must be done, but time must also be set aside to disconnect," they assure.

"If there are failed subjects, it should not be a big surprise for parents, because they should already know," considers Eulàlia R. Sanfeliu, one of the founders. "When there are several pending subjects, there are often underlying difficulties that go beyond a specific setback, whether it's a lack of study habits, sustained effort, or other factors," she adds. Since there are no exams in September, it is a task that becomes complicated. "Adolescents only see short-term effects, and without a set exam date, it will be very difficult to knuckle down if they don't collaborate," she warns.

How to combine study and summer?

Disconnecting and catching up can be perfectly combined. From this center, they believe it is necessary to "break" from studying for a few weeks when the course has ended and to reconnect little by little before starting. "In the summer there is time to grasp concepts that the fast pace of the course has not allowed us to," says the professor. In her experience, this holiday period offers the opportunity to "settle knowledge and start the course more calmly." They are clear, however, that it must not be overused because "young people and adolescents, like everyone else, need holidays."

At home with a private tutor or at an academy?

In their case, they accompany many students from working families who "delegate" the task of supervising their children to get them to do their homework and gain "peace of mind", but they argue that with willpower it can be done at home, perfectly.

When and for how long?

The secret to making this review work is to be minimally consistent these summer weeks and for this reason, from the Academy they recommend dedicating a little time to it every day. If possible, let it be in the morning, but from 10 a.m., when the heat doesn't bother yet, but you let them sleep a little, which is also important. An hour a day is enough as long as they also dedicate a little more time at home to work. From L'Acadèmia they also recommend doing short weeks or long weekends, that is, from Monday to Thursday. “If we push the students too hard, they start the course tired and they are profiles that precisely need to start the course with their batteries charged”, says Sanfeliu.

And if there are no failed subjects?

If no subjects have been failed, revision is more dispensable, but it doesn't hurt either. “Maintaining a certain routine is never bad,” say those from L’Acadèmia, who have seen activity weeks expand in recent years. If years ago families didn't contact them until August, to get started with enthusiasm in the last weeks of summer, now they go shortly after receiving their grades, and thus, the routine is the two summer months.

And not everyone or always for having failed. There are those who need to revise to retake the selectivity exam, those who have to enter university and have not taken the necessary subjects to do so with guarantees. There are also those who want, or whose parents want, to improve the level offered by the educational system or also those who prefer to anticipate future problems: "We are increasingly receiving students who have finished ESO and want to prepare for the leap to high school to avoid a setback in the first term”.