Thoughts on Summer Assignments

In the midst of the rainy and heat stroke inducing summer break, MHS students were busy balancing their social lives, jobs, and various summer assignments in order to prepare for the upcoming school year. With juniors dreading the SATs and seniors hastily filling out college applications, many students felt overwhelmed with the amount of homework given over the break. How do summer assignments really impact what we learn starting in September, and what do students think of them?

According to Harris Cooper, a chairman of the psychology and neuroscience department at Duke University, “children learn best when instruction is continuous. The long summer vacation disrupts the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting, and requires time be spent reviewing old material when students return to school in fall.” Cooper firmly believes that the inconsistent completion of work will decrease students’ ability to retain the information and apply it to their classes in September. Some teachers also agree that although it is important to do some review over the break, remembering ample information from the previous year’s curriculum is difficult, and may pose problems when the tests on summer novels and math packets roll out in the first two weeks of September. Some may argue that the test given out on the summer math packet is like trying to take a second final exam with a two month pause in between. Trying to continue the previous year’s academic agenda after summer break may take more “catching up” time for review than what’s provided.

In my experience, I always deemed completing my summer assignments a critical part of my education because of its importance stressed by my teachers. This past summer, I made an effort to put my best foot forward and stay on task, but not every student is as focused on his or her academics during a time created for the purpose of recreation and leisure. For example, I started my Precalculus assignment in June and finished about a week before school, not because it took me all summer to get through it, but because I had so many things to do unrelated to schoolwork that got in the way. How many students start their homework in June? Or do students mostly procrastinate and put it off until August? A handful of MHS students testify that they waited until August to begin their homework and had to rush, creating a severely stressful end to summer break. It is apparent that work done over the summer isn’t always done at a consistent pace every day or week. Many high school students have full-year jobs and work more hours during the summer months to put money towards college or even to pay off a car. Difficulty focusing on homework is destined to happen after coming home from a long shift at the community pool or Burger King.

Emma Danzo- a sophomore at MHS- believes, “We work really all year on school assignments and barely get a break. Then, summer comes, and most of us, especially those in Honors classes, have to start our homework fairly early in the summer since we have so much. Then, the whole summer we are terribly plagued with the burden of getting all the work done!”. Not only does Emma address the importance of a break from the chaos that is high school, but she identifies that the amount of homework assigned to students of higher-ranking courses typically have more work to do than those in lower classes. Some students feel that the school year never ended during summer break, because they could not make time for things they enjoy doing with their friends and family. Not only does the strain of summer assignments obstruct social lives, but it can get in the way of quality time that is spent with families either doing activities together or travelling. Students might bring their English novels with them on vacation, but it’s safe to say that they’re hardly ever touched while they’re sightseeing and adding to the aesthetics of their instagram feeds. It is a lose-lose situation: either one makes an effort to do his or her homework early in the summer, impeding activities of interest, or one decides to put it off until it is too late.

What acts can be taken to help students complete their summer homework without being on edge about school? Do they need more time for review, or would cutting down the amount of summer homework be more effective?

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/the-crush-of-summer-homework/?_r=0