here are several overgeneralizations about summer vacations. One is that it’s a
time of leisure, when youth are recuperating from the academic year. Another is
that it’s a period of mental stagnation. For students of color, students from low-
income backgrounds, and immigrant youth learning English, time away from
school is often framed as a step backward—the “summer slide”—which could
potentially erase literacy gains.
In our work as teachers and researchers, we have learned that it’s important
not to make presumptions about students’ lives. Experiences—in and out
of school—are shaped by the dynamics of culture, race, class, gender, and
immigration status. Just because students may not have access to an elite summer
camp or may not be traveling the world does not imply that they are not involved in
intellectual inquiry.
Becoming more attuned to the literate practices of students’ lives, as well as
to the barriers many families face in accessing opportunities, may help educators
Going beyond the vacation essay to foster deeper school–
community relationships
THE REAL SUMMER
EXPERIENCE
By María Paula Ghiso & Gerald Campano
Gerald Campano
(campano@upenn.edu)
is an associate professor
and chair of the Reading/
Writing/Literacy Division
at the University of
Pennsylvania’s Graduate
School of Education. His
scholarship focuses on
practitioner research,
immigrant students and
families, critical literacy,
identity, and university–
community partnerships.
María Paula Ghiso
(ghiso@tc.columbia.edu)
is an assistant professor
in the Department of
Curriculum and Teaching at
Teachers College, Columbia
University in New York. Her
scholarship investigates
literacy in multilingual and
transnational contexts.
ILA 2017
8
literacyworldwide.org | July/August 2017 | LITERACY TODAY