The bell rings the Friday before Thanksgiving break and students rush off campus to begin their relaxation and celebration, momentarily forgetting the five assignments they have due throughout the week.
Unfortunately, this is what holiday breaks look like for many students. Trying to balance spending time with family, getting rest, potentially travelling, and completing assignments isdraining and time-consuming. With each teacher expecting you to prioritize what they assign, it’s hard to find time for any relaxation.
The Poway High Unified school district agrees that homework over the break is reasonable if you’re enrolled in an AP class but is unfair to students.
“Assigning homework over holidays or weekends is discouraged. Enrolling in an AP level course is a choice and by the nature of the course the workload will be different than a compulsory level class,” said the Poway Unified Board policy.
Students need their break to recharge and complete things that they can’t normally do when school is consuming their time. Homework adds additional stress to kids and defeats the whole point of having a break. Students should not be worried about their “History outline” and instead should be focused on getting over eight hours of sleep.
Holiday break is also not only just for students but parents too. Parents might take time off from work and have a chance to spend time with their kids. Piling homework onto kids’ schedules deprives whole families of quality time.
This is not fair. Students work hard when they have the responsibilities during the school week, so they can enjoy the time given to them to relax.
Breaks from school are very important for students social development as well. Yes, students may develop relationships during school, but it is important for those relationships to grow beyond discussing schoolwork. When they are given little time to do so during school, break is important to allow time for interaction.
Giving students assignments to do without providing any in class time may also lead to issues, because not every student has an adequate learning environment or resources at home to be able to complete their work. Assuming that kids have access to submitting assignments online is not fair when some students do not have wifi or space to charge their chromebook, especially if their families take them out of town for the break.
While teachers have a limited amount of time to teach a specific curriculum, it is crucial that they incorporate breaks into their schedules so students are not burnt out.
