August IS Summer #SaveAugust - An Open RANT to Anyone Who Will Read! (If you know a political power who could help us #SaveAugust, pass this on to them!)

All these words you are about to read and images you are about to see are all me. If you agree, thank you! If you do not, I am curious about your thoughts on the matter. I really am!

Here we go…

I am a firm believer that SUMMER is made up of three months: June, July, and August. Yet, in my lifetime I have seen summer here in Missouri get hit hard by this thing called SCHOOL. I think it's time to #SaveAugust 

Do not get me wrong, I am all for education (if you know me, you understand that). Yet, I am also very pro-SUMMER.

I have watched too many school districts, as well as private schools, speed up their “First Day of School” across our state for years now. Quite frankly, I don’t understand why.

I just read another article this morning about how increased homework and increased days on the school calendar are NOT helping our students succeed. If anything there’s a backlash and statistically more kids are disliking school than ever it would seem (along with their parents).

Call me crazy, but some of my most amazing (and tragic) summer memories come from mid to late August. Maybe it was the heat that branded them into my memory banks? I can still feel that itchy hat my mom had me wear at the State Fair one year; sweaty band and all!

I firmly believe in these statements; DECLARATIONS if you will:

School shouldn’t be going on during the Missouri State Fair.

We shouldn’t have to close local swimming pools in mid-August, and theme parks like Six Flags should have peak attendance right about NOW. Tourist traps all over the country should be BUSY!

Yes, kids should be eating cotton candy and riding rides until they nearly pass out instead of scouring the “Back to School” sales aisles looking for whatever obscure item is on that mammoth class supply list.

I doubt there’s any study to back me up, but hear me out: 

Kids need time to go smell the smells and see the sights of the Missouri State Fair. 

They need time to wade in spring-fed creeks, or splash in the town pool. 

They need time to bond with family and explore on their own. 

They need to explore our tourist traps, National Parks, State Parks, creeks, lakes, waterfalls... 

...Oh, and they also need time to be so BORED of summer that they are just itching to get back into the books. When I had LONG summers, I actually used to get BORED and want school to start. What a concept! 

I want my childhood to not be nostalgia, but one that still exists in my home state for future generations.

Think about it.

#SaveAugust can become a movement. It sure can! 

Until next time,

M of MK Designs Photography