Indifference towards the blessings of our nation

I am disappointed that so many no longer put their hand over their heart during the national anthem.

At Friday’s Colorado Avalanche game, for example, one of Boulder’s youth hockey teams was featured on ice during the national anthem.

Of the 20-some young players, no more than 5 observed the U.S. Flag Code to show their love of country by placing their right hand over their heart during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner.

Blind allegiance is not a virtue, but this level of indifference towards the blessings of our nation is disheartening, especially as they will be representing our city and state in an international tournament.

— Andrew Miller, Boulder

Shorter summer break for students has benefits

Have you ever thought about how much knowledge kids lose on summer break? Well, turns out it’s a whole 2.5 months! This is one reason why I think that our country should have a shorter summer break. It would also eliminate summer boredom, improve test scores, and give kids more time to work on the skills they know and the skills they need to work on or get better at.

First, taking a month or two off of summer vacation would eliminate summer boredom. It would give kids something to do and parents wouldn’t have to worry about their kids. School would keep them safe, happy, and always learning something new. Plus, parents wouldn’t have to pay for summer camps for their kids. It would keep kids busy during the summer.

Second, shortening summer break would really help to improve test scores. Studies show that kid’s test scores drop or decline after summer break. It would help them have more time to study for their tests and quizzes that they take for each and every subject. Shortening summer break would raise test scores.

Last but not least, taking a month off of summer vacation would give students more time. It would give them more time so that they could dig deeper into the topics that they’re learning in school. It would give middle schoolers and high schoolers more time to work on essays and tests, as said in the third paragraph.

All in all, shortening summer break would help kids’ academic lives. I know that I forget a lot over the summer. While I understand the side of liking the long, relaxing summer breaks, I think that it would help all kids across the nation to shorten them.

— Ian Harvey, 5th grader at Bear Creek Elementary