In defense of doing nothing during the summer

"Isn't this summer the perfect time for your teenager to kick around doing nothing? If not now, when?"

I loved Sunday's New York Times article, "What's Your Teenager Doing This Summer? In Defense of Nothing," written by a former dean of freshmen at Stanford University. Of course my students should have the opportunity to just be teenagers during the summer.  They should have the opportunity to breath, to relax, to just do nothing.  The only problem is if you want to get into Stanford, you can't sit around all summer doing nothing.

Colleges often talk out of both sides of their mouths.  "We read holistically, looking beyond the numbers," say some of them. "Students are over-programmed, and we want them to have a life," say others.  And even though UNC's own research has proved that after five AP classes, students were not any better prepared or more successful once in college, I'm not convinced that they have stopped counting AP's on a transcript once they get to five.

Maybe I'm naive, because I think colleges want to believe what they're saying.  The problem is that it's simply not (always) true.  They are going to consider your test scores, and they are going to evaluate your transcript, in part based on the number of honors and advanced placement courses you take.  And at a competitive institution, they are going to be suspect of the student who sits around all summer doing nothing.

Of course, students and parents can take control.  If you are dying to go to Stanford (or fill in the blank with another highly ultra-selective college or university), then you know what you are getting yourself into.  So don't complain that you have to start your own non-profit or do independent scientific research or invent a new breed of dog (just kidding, of course). But if you believe that you can go to a less selective school and still live a happy, successful life, then you can wrest control of your life from an admissions office.

"To me, a successful young adult is one who has the wherewithal to look after themselves, feel good about themselves, be good citizens and maybe raise a child of their own one day," the author goes on to say.  Isn't that what we really want for our children?  If so, maybe doing nothing during the summer isn't such a bad idea after all.