Summer is here and it’s time for everyone to take a well-earned break from their studies and enjoy some time outside of the classroom. Before you get too excited by the prospect of throwing your books into your closet and forgetting about school until the night before you return, you may want to think twice about how challenging some subjects are, and how you would love to perform consistently better next year.
Mathematics is widely considered one of the most difficult subjects for students to learn. There are abstract concepts and particularly tricky math problem-solving techniques that each require dedication, practice, and patience.
Summer gives math students the opportunity to enhance their mathematical skills and get a leg up on the competition. Studying in summer may seem like a very alien notion to many of you, but when you properly analyze the extended periods of time students face during summer, often with no plans and little to do, you will see that studying in summer actually makes a lot of sense.
The Importance of Math
Mathematics is far more than just another subject taught in school. Of course, the skills learned in math can be applied throughout your life and each of us needs to know how to do our taxes, and budget for the month. Going even further than these real-life applications of learned math skills, math represents a core skill that touches many aspects of our lives, and the skills developed during math class go far beyond gaining the ability to calculate your own finances.
Mathematics enhances problem-solving abilities, critical thinking skills, and logical reasoning, all of which can be applied beyond the four walls of a math class. Whether one aspires to pursue a career in STEM or any other field, a strong base of mathematical knowledge is invaluable. Dedicating time to studying math – both old concepts and new – will ensure a student takes an important step in the right direction before the next semester.
Studying in Summer for a Head Start
Before you start calling me crazy for saying you should spend your summer studying the Pythagorean Theorem, that is not what I’m suggesting. Summer is a time for students to get out of school and spend their valuable leisure time as they see fit. It’s vitally important to embrace breaks and time away from the classroom for students to maintain a well-rounded education and not spend their whole summer stressed about school.
With that said, summer is a long stretch of time, and quite often, students face extended periods of time either at home, alone, or suffering from boredom. In these moments, students could massively benefit from a couple of hours of math study, helping them solidify their understanding and be better prepared for the upcoming academic year.
Furthermore, since the pace of learning during the regular school term can be accelerated due to the variance in students’ learning speeds, summer provides a less stressful environment in which students can grasp complex concepts at their own desired pace. Students can then delve deeper into topics, practice problem-solving techniques, and build a strong foundation for the years of math learning that are to come.
The Importance of Taking Breaks
If you do decide to study math during the summer, it’s important to be lenient on yourself – much more lenient than you would be during the school year. Math is important, but students need to prioritize their well-earned downtime. Students that do not get a sufficient break during the summer may burn out when they return to the hectic schedule in September.
To combat these issues, students should always take regular, extended breaks when studying math in the summer. Brains work best when they get a chance to rest, and all the physical activity and socializing that students can engage in during the summer are also fantastic food for the brain.
Striking a balance between study and leisure lets students maintain a healthy mindset and can drive them to approach math with renewed energy and enthusiasm.
At Online Math Center
To sum up, studying math during the summer is a smart decision and a valuable investment in a student’s academic and personal progress. Students can strengthen their math skills, gain a competitive advantage over classmates, and foster a lifelong passion for learning. Without dedicating some chunk of time to math during the summer months, students can run the risk of their skills plateauing, slowing future progress.
At OMC, we have a diverse team of experienced tutors that can help your child find the right balance when studying math this summer. Whether they are middle school students, high school students, or students preparing for the Math SAT, our exam preparation courses and individual tutoring classes will position them to do their best during the warm weather months.
Contact OMC today to enroll your child in our tutoring classes.
