Summer Assignment Setback

Did you know that studies show summer assignments actually set students back? You would think that summer assignments would get students a head start to the school year, but this is not always the case. Students look forward to their time off during summer vacation, and when they are bombarded with loads of reading and various other work they can be discouraged before the school year even starts.

What if a student doesn’t switch into an Advanced Placement or honors class until a week after school starts? They fall behind automatically because they were not required to do an assignment in their regular class. Summer assignments are unnecessary and should be taken out of the curriculum. Summer assignments are designed around the lowest performing students. Studies show that students who come from low income households lose the most information during summer. They cannot afford to be put in camps and such while affluent households can afford to put their children into camps that continue learning.

More often than not, students will lose interest in school solely from the summer assignments they receive. I get frustrated with summer assignments and would rather spend my time doing what I want than doing a book report. We took a poll in my class about whether they disagreed with summer assignments or not and the whole class, minus two students, stood up. Students have little desire to spend their summer doing book reports and various other projects, however not all students disagree with the idea of summer assignments. But if they want to spend their summer reading book after book, who is stopping them? If what they enjoy is reading, that is what they will do on their vacation.

Even parents have issues with their children spending their whole summer doing school work. People in my class have said that their parents have told them to stop doing their homework before. They do not want their child to spend every hour of their so called “free time” doing page after page of homework given to them by their teachers. Kids should be kids and have fun and explore on their vacation, not be stuck behind a book. Homework can often send a poor message to students.

It tells them that a program will be designed for them wherever they go or in whatever they do. What happens when they go on to college and must design their own study schedule but are unable to because a preset homework plan has always been given to them. It is goes along with summer homework assignments too. Students must take it upon themselves to get prepared for the upcoming school year, or else get ready for a reality check. The idea for a summer assignments sounds great.

Until students don’t want to learn and become discouraged before the first day they walk into those doors every year. The negative impacts of these assignments outweigh the positive. Who says the low performing students, in which these assignments are geared for, even do them? These assignments are not needed, and should be erased completely from the education system.