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The Edutopia Poll
by Sara Ring
No more pencils, no more books? Not so for many students, who are increasingly expected to complete homework assignments over the summer -- anything from reading lists to essays to intricate math problems. The practice is intended to combat the summer learning loss that affects all students. Though proponents argue that summer homework helps students maintain their academic skills, many students and their families resent mandatory work over vacation. In fact, in 2005, a Wisconsin teen sued his math teacher, the school district, and the state department of education, arguing that his school was outside of its rights to assign work before his class technically began. (The suit was dismissed.) Is summer homework an unfair burden to place on families, or is it a reasonable response to summer learning loss? Tell us what you think!
Summer homework is ridiculous
Submitted by Bernard Kingsley (not verified) on August 22, 2008 - 08:54.
Summer homework is ridiculous.
I participate in a sport year round, summers; winters; every season; 365 days a year.
I go 5 times a week, on weekdays after school.
I have so much homework during the year, and little time to do it in.
But I get it all accomplished.
I am in all honors/AP classes, and the workload is horrible.
When the summer rolls around, I do NOT want to continue doing homework.
I even had to bring my homework on my Vacation to Florida.
Does that seem fair?
My VACATION to another State, where I am supposed to enjoy my time, I am doing homework on the plane and in the Hotel room.
I am a smart 14 year old male, and I find summer homework ruins everything there is about Summer.
Summer homework
Submitted by kevin (not verified) on July 5, 2008 - 14:44.
1.Students wake up early, go to school get back do homework again and again
for 180 days the least they deserve
is a little break, spend time with your family go play outside AND GET FIT! If someone is inside reading and doing homework they can't go outside
and have fun and be fit and play with
some friends.
2.every year they teach the students the same thing they learned the year
before and some more. why practice so you won't forget, if you're just going to review every ting all over again.
Assigning homework over the summer
Submitted by Mel (not verified) on August 14, 2008 - 10:25.
I'm sorry to say Kevin, children and teens especially spend most of their summer inside watching tv or playing video games, they don't spend their time outside getting "fit". Kids have 180 days to finish it, and the homework will hardly require all of their time.
As to the fact that teachers will review everything; they might in elementary and middle schools, but once you get to high school, you are expected to retain most of the previous years' information.
Homework in the Sum-Sum-Summertime
Submitted by Mary (not verified) on June 21, 2008 - 20:50.
Yes, I agree, time with your family is key to those strong bonds that will give a child an unshakeable foundation of confidence and security and love that they need to have a happy, healthy, balanced life!
Summer homework doesn't necessarily have to be "light" or "rigorous": It should be fun! Without any homework over the summer, students are at risk to forget much of what they learned the year before! Carpe Diem can take on a whole new meaning: learning that's so much fun that you didn't even realize that it was homework! That is when the best of all worlds come together. ( : - Mary - Palm Springs
Homework for the Summer
Submitted by Shirley Hobson (not verified) on June 21, 2008 - 19:55.
As a parent and grandparent, I don't see anything wrong with structural homework. The children get bored so easy and leaving them to their own devices is a dangerous
thing to do. Parents still have to work. And if the children are given an assignment a day, this makes them have responsibility for something and when parents come home from work, the children can go with a friend or go biking. That's if the homework and
chores are done. Of course each family situation is different. The parents will have
to involve themselves with making schedules etc. I didn't say an absolute "yes" because of the reason that was given. I believe that children need a break, just not as much of a break as they get. I wish this had been done when my kids were little.
summer homework
Submitted by Sarah Ritter (not verified) on June 18, 2008 - 19:04.
If something is so important that a child needs to study it, then it should be part of the school's curriculum, not the child's summer assignment. Think, learn, do, be - are what I want for my own children and from my students. In thirty years of teaching, I have never known specific reading assignments to enrich students' enjoyment of learning. They usually don't even understand the books they have to read. I would rather give a parent the assignment to take her/his child somewhere (the backyard, a museum, a park, another state or country!) and discover three amazing things about each other and the world in which you both!
Summer homework
Submitted by Chan Bliss (not verified) on June 18, 2008 - 13:27.
I have assigned homework over the summer and experienced varying degrees of success. My assignments generally involve some sort of parental involvement.
One year the assignment I gave asked the student to visit an art museum and then to write a short report about a work of art they liked and about a work of art that they did not like. “Extra credit” was given if a parent also wrote a report. I encouraged students to visit a museum if they went on vacation.
Yes I did have parents grumbling about taking away the “fun” of summer. But many thanked me for asking them to do something with their children that they would not normally have done.
When school started it gave me a starting point for the year exploring and discussing all the different museums and works of art that the students had seen over the summer. And the range was quite impressive. Some were papers on the store at the mall that also sells posters. Others were from local art museums and libraries. I had many that did visit museums while on vacation and that was fun because we could look at Google Earth and see where that museum was. I was very jealous of the students who’s parents took them on a trip to Paris and their report was on the Louvre, I didn’t expect that one but the kids really thought it was cool when I got to spin the globe to the other side to show them where Paris is.
So yes, if done correctly summer homework can have a positive effect on student achievement.
Summer Work
Submitted by Steven Finder (not verified) on June 18, 2008 - 09:20.
It is all relative really. If you wok in an area that values education over all else and wants their children to succeed at all cost, then yes. We all know who is going to do the work and who isn't. But assigning work to studnets that leave the country or are migratory is pointless. Poverty plays a big role in who does and doesn't complete daily homework, let aloine summer work.
Tony
Los Angeles
Summer Homework
Submitted by Barb Schade (not verified) on June 18, 2008 - 04:20.
Homework, according to Alfie Kohn in The Homework Myth, does not increase learning or test scores. In fact, over 50 years of research shows that homework, especially for K-5 students but true of all (K-12), is a waste of time. During the summer? Never. If students really regress as much as some teachers think, then we should have year round schools - and no homework. What is the purpose of homework? If it's to practice skills, then what happens when a student completes all the homework incorrectly? That student has taught his/her brain the skill incorrectly. That's how students regress. School work, to really be effective, belongs in school.
One last, and very important, point - homework is the cause of many arguements in the home. We, as educators, are to strive to instill a love of learning in our students; a very difficult if not impossible task if it causes anger, fights, and punishments at home.
Summer homework should support real-life skill development
Submitted by Georgina Pazzi (not verified) on July 11, 2008 - 05:46.
I find this subject fascinating. I agree that homework does little to really improve student results over the summer break as already mentioned by Barbe Schade (although here in Australia it is a winter break at the moment). We all need a 'break'and so do our students. Real-life learning is what they should be doing as this will inevitably support them in later life far more than current maths test results etc. Students should be given every opportunity to experience the world around them while on a break and not be confined to drill and practise sessions for school. Allowing them to socialize with others, make their own decisions on what they would like to learn and further experience their community, culture, interests and needs would give them plentiful opportunities to learn. If you refer to the life-long ‘earning’ skills employers look for you will notice that many of these skills can be developed through such experiences. Perhaps this should also give us some food for thought when looking at our own curriculum and how we prepare our students for the real world and the future. Having these opportunities during their holiday break will allow them to learn and come back far more refreshed for a new school term just like we as educators do. Learning does not stop when they leave school. We should encourage our students to create their own opportunities to experience new things not just practise what they have already experienced. This can happen when they come back to school (unless of course you would rather continue a new and exciting learning journey for them when they return).
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