Who didn’t relish belting out “School’s out for summer, school’s out forever” at some point in their academic career?  Fun as it was, is our educational schedule breeding laziness and academic inferiority? A column in the latest Economist offers some interesting statistics:

-American children have one of the shortest school years anywhere, 180 days compared with 200 for East Asian countries.

-German children spend 20 more days in school than American ones, and South Koreans over a month more. Over 12 years, a 15-day deficit means American children lose out on 180 days of school, equivalent to an entire year.

-American children also have one of the shortest school days, six-and-a-half hours, adding up to 32 hours a week. By contrast, the school week is 37 hours in Luxembourg, 44 in Belgium, 53 in Denmark and 60 in Sweden.

The article stated that “the long summer vacation acts like a mental eraser, with the average child reportedly forgetting about a month’s-worth of instruction in many subjects and almost three times that in mathematics. ”

It argues that over the long haul this will make Americans less competitive for jobs in the international marketplace.

I would argue that while many of those children aren’t in school, they are still participating in activities that are mentally stimulating. Unfortunately, in our system, the onus is on the parents to provide those opportunities, often at significant additional expense. This is especially disadvantageous for poor families, whose children may end up in front of the television for lack of an affordable option. And it can be exasperating for parents to cobble together child care and educational activities for all the hours their children are out of school but the parents have to work (Durango mom Audrey Crane adroitly chronicles the dilemma in this blog post on the subject). The article asserts that this is a holdover from our agrarian past when children were needed on the farm. Maybe it is time the school year caught up with today’s reality.

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On Saturday there was a skate competition and tribute to Tyler Valencia, a local skater who died about three years ago in a car crash. The event at the skatepark was sponsored by the city and The Boarding Haus, and I was impressed to see the Southwest Regional Emergency & Trama Advisory Council was passing out 100 percent FREE helmets. Unfortunately, none of the competitors I saw were wearing head protection. Maybe it’s just a sign that I’m getting old, but when did bashing your brains in on concrete become cool? Why reject something that could save your life and costs you nothing? Talk about rebel without a cause.

The trama advisory council can be reached at 739-1911 or swretac.org. 

Memorial skate contest honors Tyler Valencia

Recenty Audrey Crane, moderator for the Yahoo group durangoparents, started a list of 100 things for kids to do in the area (inspired by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mommy Files “103 things all S.F. kids should do in the city before they grow up.”)

Here’s the list of 29 suggestions group members have contributed so far. Surely we can make it to 100, no problem?! (Use the “comments” link at the end of this post to add your suggestions.)

1. Visit Brookside park — chemical free — and soak feet in the stream.

2. Visit the Durango Fish Hatchery and Wildlife Museum. Hours are 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. The fish hatchery closes a half hour earlier. Call 375-6766 for more information.

3. Take a short hike (use the Town Series “1 mile fun runs” for ideas).

4. Watch the train depart from or return to the depot.

5. Play in the mud and sand along Animas River (the 32nd Street bridge and pedestrian bridge behind the fairgrounds have good beaches).

6. Visit the amazing kids pool at the Durango Community Recreation Center.

7. Get a cool Japanese soda and photo taken (or punch in their photo) during lunch at Sushitarian.

8. Bike ride/tow up the Animas River Trail.

9. Stroll around the Durango Farmer’s Market.

10. Visit the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park in Pagosa Springs and see the grizzly, mountain lions, wolves, coyotes and more. The address is 4821 A Highway 84, Pagosa Springs. Call (970) 264-4515 for more information.

11. Play in the river in Pagosa Springs near the hot springs (parents should check for any too hot water first).

12. Visit Canyonlands, Needles District (some kid friendly hikes, beautiful scenery, nice visitors center, ranger talks, plus Newspaper Rock on your way in).

13. Pick pears, plums, apples or crabapples and bake a pie.

14. Go star gazing.

15. Visit the E3 Children’s Museum & Science Center in Farmington.

16. Get to know a friend or family from another culture (local Rotary clubs sponsor many exchanges).

17. Visit Great Sand Dunes National Park outside Alamosa.

18. Visit pumpkin patch in fall.

19. Hike the Colorado Trail and splash in Junction Creek.

20. Go sledding (in July) on Kennebec Pass.

21. Visit La Boca Farm or James Ranch

22. Visit Trimble Hot Springs.

23. Go rafting down the Animas River.

24. Attend the summer concert series on Main Avenue every Saturday (anyone with more info on this one?).

25. Have a picnic and a hike at Haviland Lake (look for frogs).

26. Make a puppet show in the children’s library at the Durango Public Library.

27. Climb around on fossilized sea life at Molas Pass.

28. Go ice skate at the skating rink.

29. Go tubing at Chapman Hill.

The Durango Public Library is kicking off its summer reading program today. This includes a party for teens 2-4 p.m. at the library. To cut down on paper usage, the library has moved its reading log system online. To register go to http://www.durangopubliclibrary.org/screens/srp.html.

The Ignacio Community Library also launches its summer reading program with registration until 3 p.m. today or any day after that at the library. The program runs through Aug. 3 and includes various events. For more information, call 563-9287, go to www.ignaciolibrary.org, or pick up a library newsletter around town. 

The Bayfield library kicks off its summer reading program on Tuesday, June 9. Registration begins at 10 a.m. and continues at the library through July. A kick-off party for teens and tweens takes place 5-7 p.m. Tuesday. For more information, call the library at 884-2222 or go to www.pineriverlibrarydistrict.org.

Durango Parks and Recreation has openings in some popular summer activities for children. These include:

- Trail Trekkers (where kids are led on supervised weekly hikes)

- Youth basketball clinics (ages 8-10 Tuesday nights, ages 11-14 Thursday nights)

- Sandlot Baseball (ages 9-12, Monday and Wednesday)

- Intro to Youth Baseball (ages 4-8 in July)

- Start Smart Golf (ages 5-7, Monday and Wednesday)

There is also space in the Gametime Program for children ages 5-15. Parents register for specific days, the week, or the entire month. Leaders keep participants safe and busy in a number of different fun and exciting activities.

Check out the 2009 Summer/Fall Park and Recreation Activities Guide for more information about these and other programs. Sign up today at the Recreation Center, Mason Center or Chapman Hill or online at www.durangogov.org. For more information on these great programs, contact John Robinette at 970-375-7323.