Culture is a funny and illogical thing, when you think about it. There are so many parts of our culture that exist by laws or rules that were set down a long time ago and now just continue because of tradition or inertia. Of course, among these rules and institutions and laws, a few good things result. We’ve gotten many great cultural traditions out of this interweaving web of culture, from movies to books to schedules to schools. Holidays are a great example of this idea in living form. Christmas is a tradition dating back thousands of years but is a still surviving tangible idea. Most cultures have some version of Christmas, a winter holiday to commemorate survival in the harsh winter. Of course, nowadays, there aren’t many people in the developed world clamoring to survive harsh winters but it has only been in the last century or two when that has really proved true. For a long time, people needed those sorts of festivities to help boost morale when things otherwise might seem at their lowest. On the other end of the seasonal spectrum there are summer cultural institutions that have also survived from time immemorial and are just as important. Let’s take a look at some of these institutions, how they formed and where they might be going in the future.
The Summer Vacation
All schools, from arts camp school to middle school to prep school to private education schools to preparatory schools and beyond, all take a break in the summer. While this is not common everywhere, it is a cultural staple in the United States and has been for hundreds of years. No one is quite sure where this tradition came from and how it has affected everything from arts camp to high schools, but people have a few theories. Some people think it has something to do with the harvest and agricultural yield before the industrial revolution happened. Others think it was deliberately created for people who lived in cities to allow them to take their children to the cooler and less punishing country side in the summer. But, whatever it was, the summer vacation has seeped into all aspects of culture, from the college spring break to movies that revolve solely around summer shenanigans.
Summer Vacation Activities
This three month period of no school has engendered a type of summer ethos in United States culture at large, a sort of romantic vision about the thrills and adventures of summer as it relates to childhood. While some of this romantic vision is a bit overblown, there really are so many things for children to do in the summer when they aren’t in school and it’s all because of this specific tradition. Arts camp is one thing many kids do, living in dorms and on empty school campuses as they learn how and in what way they’d like to express themselves. Arts camp is an important step for many young people to learn how to express their creativity but it’s not the only thing to do on summer vacation. There are also outdoor camps for kids to run and play, swimming camps to teach kids how to swim and a thousand other activities. Let’s take a closer look at arts camp, however, to get a real feel for what summer is like for these kids.
Arts camp and children
There are actually several different kinds of arts camps for children to visit, not just one or two. In theater camp, kids will learn the ins and outs of the performing arts and how to act or sing while being in front of an audience. After all, it’s not a natural thing to be in front of hundreds of people and it takes a little time getting used to. At music camp, kids with some rhythmical inclinations will learn what instruments and sounds best suit their style. There is also the more traditional visual arts camp where children how to express what is inside their heads on paper with ink or crayons or whatever is suited for their skill level. It all depends on the skills and personalities of the kid in question.
