Netflix for Summer School

My son has to watch Netflix for summer school.

My wife and I have established a non-negotiable policy for our kids: they each have to take a summer school credit every summer, beginning as soon as they graduate from grade eight.*

These days, summer school is asynchronous and virtual.

(They spend a few hours each day at their computer, completing modules at their own pace and submitting assignments by pre-determined deadlines.)

My son, who enters Grade 9 in September, is taking his required geography credit this summer.

So I was surprised when I walked into the kitchen to see him watching Netflix.

"Buddy, what are you doing? You're supposed to be doing your schoolwork, not watching Netflix."

"I am doing my schoolwork, Dad. We've been assigned to watch part of this documentary on Netflix."

I spend a few minutes listening to the program he was assigned to watch.

And it was really, really good!

There are three things to take away from this:

1. Netflix isn't just about entertainment.

There is SO MUCH informative content on the platform. And not all "screen time" is bad.

2. Storytelling has always been the most powerful way to impart knowledge.

Great teachers use stories to help students learn, but those stories don't always have to come from an instructor speaking in front of a class.

3. Teaching must continue evolving to meet the needs of today's students and how they learn.

My son's teacher has recognized that assigning some entertaining video content on Netflix would be a more effective way to teach students about the world's water crisis than assigning more "academic" videos or readings. And he chose effectiveness over conventional... which I'd argue is usually the right decision,

Netflix for summer school?

Sign me up!

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* We implemented this policy when my eldest daughter graduated from grade eight. She understandably complained: "Why do I have to do to school in the summer?!?"

I explained how taking a credit every summer would mean she would start Grade 11 three credits ahead, of everybody else, and that she should trust that she would VERY much appreciate the extra time that could be used to get her Grade 11 and Grade 12 grades as high as they can be (to help get her into her post-secondary program of choice), to spend time on extra-curricular activities (for stress-relief and to help on those post-secondary applications) and to take on extra shifts at her part-time jobs (to pay for said post-secondary programs).

Fast-forward three years: my daughter enters Grade 11 in September, and has Math and Physics in the same semester. She wants to go into medicine, so these will be important subjects for her. And her Principal, after seeing she was three credits ahead, gave her approval to take a spare so she can have a study period.

All of which is to say, she's not complaining anymore.