The Wootton Summer Institute is a school program filled with courses that are offered over a period in the summer. Students may take a course over the summer to fulfill specific graduation requirements or to get ahead in academic paths.
This summer, the program starts June 26 and ends Aug. 2. The courses offered include honors geometry, physical science, algebra 1, health, research project, writing essays and SAT/ACT section prep.
Freshman Riya Singh took geometry as a summer course, and had mixed feelings about the summer class experience. “I decided to take honors geometry over the summer because I wanted to get ahead in math. I did get straight A’s in that class but we went over the material very rapidly so it was hard to comprehend all the information given to you each day. One of the main advantages of this course was that it was a good way for students to finish classes that are not as important so they focus on the main courses in school. One disadvantage is that you are given so much information in such a short amount of time. It’s almost impossible to remember it all. In the school year, we go at a much slower pace than in the summer classes. It can be stressful at times but it’s a good opportunity and people should take advantage of it,” Singh said.
The opinion regarding summer classes is mixed because of conflicts in academic and social goals for the summer. “I took part in a summer class. An advantage is that it’s supposed to be easier than normal classes. Normal courses in school during the school year waste a lot of time with videos and warmups and those resources do not help students actively learn the stuff. A disadvantage in the institute is that it takes a lot of time each day and sometimes there are quizzes on the same day so you have to get the stuff immediately. However, I actually made a lot of friends there. We often worked together to learn the material faster and we were put in groups for certain projects. The class actually put me at an advantage in terms of social life, so the advantages did outweigh the disadvantages,” sophomore Deepa Kori said.
Sophomore Lauren Röling took health over the summer and weighed the benefits and drawbacks of taking classes in the summer program. “Although taking a course over the summer takes up a few weeks during which you could be spending time with friends, I think that the benefits of taking a summer course outweigh this. Taking a summer course frees up a slot during the school year for you to take a class that interests you or that earns you a graduation credit. For me, taking health over the summer allowed me to have room in my schedule for chemistry, which allowed me to have another class opening for junior year,” Röling said.
Registration for summer classes closed on May 1. The cost for the classes ranged from $125 to $300 dollars. The program starts on June 26.

Nitya Kumar

Staff Writer