Feature

Late Nights with Homework

Summer Homework: Worth It? by Hannah Gibbons

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Everyone June, after finals, after the seniors graduate, after the lockers have been cleared of old water bottles and discarded homework, an email is sent to each and every student: SUMMER HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS. Parents bother kids about it, students procrastinate it, teachers probably do not want to grade it, so what is the point? Summer homework usually consists of a number of essays for English and AP classes, as well as several outlines. Many school districts make it mandatory, but why?

Having work to do over the summer keeps the minds of students sharp. There are no doubt a number of students who sit and watch television all summer while their brain matter drips out of their ears in front of SpongeBob marathons. Vivienne Longstreet ‘14 said, “Yes, of course summer is about fun, but what’s fun about sitting on your couch in front of Netflix for two months? Get out and do something. You can’t watch Netflix in the park but you can read a book, and the essay doesn’t even take that long.”

Summer course work for AP classes is another story. AP class summer work can be tedious and heavy. But, the hope is that you aren’t taking an AP class you aren’t interested in. What’s the point of working that hard at something you hate? AP summer work doesn’t have to be enjoyable but you are learning things at an advanced level that you wanted to learn, assuming that is why you signed up for the class. Writing outlines and essays for AP classes can give you a feel of how to handle a college level course. This also gives you the chance to feel out what kind of work your teacher is looking for. Because it is summer work, it is unlikely that your teacher expects it to be in the exact format they would want, but they can correct you so you can learn early on how to do the work correctly. Longstreet continues, “AP summer work isn’t something I would want to do instead of going to the beach but it’s true that I can get practice outlining and writing DBQ’s, which I might not have had experience with before.”

Some students disagree. Deanna Outten ‘14 said, “No [we should not have summer homework], summer is something you should enjoy. It should not be weighed down with unnecessary homework.” Students are in school for about ten months out of the year. this can be gruelling and stressful. Summer break is meant to let us rest our minds and bodies from the stress that is a fast-paced high school career.

For those students actually doing things over the summer, summer homework can seem like simply another chore. If you are on a trip abroad, summer work can make it very difficult to throw your entire self into the culture of a new place because you are so concerned with the bad grade you will get when you go back to school.

Students attending institutions and educational programs will be assigned enough work where they are. Many educational summer programs are very demanding and take up time in the day from morning until night. Because students are so engrossed in these programs, summer homework will seem like the least of their worries and teachers will receive subpar work from students who can do much better.

Over the summer, many students get involved with community service programs. This can involve hard work from dawn until dark and when they finally get to go home, students are so exhausted they just collapse on their bed and sleep. It seems like common sense that community service is a better use of time than writing a mediocre essay or outline. Charlotte Surface ‘14 said, “I think there is more educational value in a student spending their summer traveling and experiencing culture, or enriching their life in a way school cannot provide. Writing a heavily procrastinated paper on the Sparknotes of a book they pretended to read is not furthering students’ learning. If anything it is taking time away from real educational experiences.”

For a lot of students, summer is an escape from high school all together. Whether it be people, teachers, unrealistic expectations, or work itself, high school is a tough time. Summer homework takes away these students’ chance to escape the melancholy that most of the year is and go do something that they truly enjoy.
Maybe the better idea is for the school to offer educational experiences like classes that wouldn’t usually be offered during the year or trips to new places or cities. This way, the school can know that they are still helping their students educate themselves, but in a way that is actually productive. Whether it be essays, outlines, worksheets, or quizzes, summer homework is an unnecessary part of education.