Summer work is a very common thing in elementary, middle, and high school. Each year, kids are excited to start their summer and finally have a break; however, the thought of the 3 page essay, or nonfiction book they have to read is always in the back of their minds. Many students report not starting their work until the last week of vacation. Some even said they don’t start until the night before. This is due to the fact that students take this time to relax and regroup after a long year, not constantly continuing to do work. It’s important for teens to have a healthy mind and body growing up, as this is partly what summer break is for. However, students won’t be able to have that with the deadline coming up in August. The amount of work assigned each break is overwhelming, and it’s obvious all teenagers want is a stress free break. That’s not possible with the constant reminder of more homework even when school isn’t in session. Furthermore, even if there isn’t a huge workload, students are constantly worried about the grade they will get before the school year even starts. This adds extra stress to the student body when we already face enough during the school year. Summer break is our time to breathe, not struggle under the pressure of more work.
To fix this, teachers should either lower the amount of work given, and the grade that comes with it, or eliminate summer work altogether. This will lift a weight off of the students shoulders all together. Some teachers will claim that it’s setting the student up for what to expect in the class. While that might be true, there are other ways to do this. For example, the first week of school, ease the student in. If it’s a harder class, assign a mini quiz with no penalty if someone receives a poor grade. This will give the student an idea of what the course will entail without taking away time to regroup and relax after a long year.
Students will be in favor of this idea, because no one wants to do homework during summer. In addition, they will know about the course ahead of time, and it’s their job to keep it in mind. Teachers might oppose this, because they don’t want to change anything, but it will strongly benefit the students and staff all around. Less homework means less grading, but still getting work done. In the future, if summer work continues, students will start to turn to AI, and the work all together will be pointless. When students don’t want to do something, a lot of the time they will go to Chat GPT or other resources, which just makes the work a burden instead of a way to learn. With the rise of AI and technology, people are just more prone to rely on social media and computers, rather than doing anything themselves. There are other ways to help a student learn without taking away free time.
In conclusion, summer work is hurting a child rather than helping them. It only causes procrastination and stress for everyone involved. It’s important to take into account what works best for the students and not just the teachers. By limiting summer work or not assigning any at all, people will be excited to start the new school year, without any worry of deadlines.
