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Vittert: Give children, teachers their summer vacation back

(Photo: Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — You might have heard there is a shortage of teachers these days.

Maybe it’s the continual shortening of summer. After all, the three best reasons to be a teacher are June, July and August.


America’s school boards are ruining America’s youth.

From Florida in the South, through Arkansas to Illinois and west to California, tens of millions of kids are already back in school. It’s Aug. 16.

This is blasphemy. Summer break should go from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Full stop. Schools are literally robbing children of their most valuable educational experiences.

Think about it: Did you learn more about life working a summer job or listening to a teacher drone on about “Catcher in the Rye”?

At times like this, we turn to the great philosopher Kid Rock explaining his summer experiences:

“It’s the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn’t have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair”

Nobody ever wrote that song about science class. The do-gooders shortening summer have nearly killed off the summer camp business. Kids used to leave for four or eight weeks to learn about life. They are missing those experiences.

Three months of families taking vacation built small towns across the country. It built an entire industry of ice cream stands and T-shirt shops, not to mention employing millions.

Now they have two months rather than three for a year’s worth of business.

I could go on, but this generation won’t be the same. No lesson on the periodic table can replace a summer romance. No history lesson can replace the work ethic taught by a first boss. No English comp class can replace time spent around the campfire with your parents.