I have never really thought of challenging the idea of summer homework, especially since our school and county are so large. I guess I figure it would be too much of a pain. I think if I was going to challenge anything it would be the PE requirement. For kids who take a year-round elective like drama or band there is really no time in the schedule for PE and health, so those kids must take it in the summer and parents have to pay $500 for the two courses (public school). Especially for someone like my son, who plays two varsity sports and exercises year round, it seems absurd to have to do this for PE.
I do agree that the summer homework does not make a difference in outcome for AP tests and given how much work they have during the school year, the summer work seems overkill. Many students in the highest level of classes could have significant summer work and the time would be better spent on many other things. I donāt mind summer reading at all but all the other work is ridiculous.
Itās a good thing I logged into cc today. Somehow I had forgotten about summer homework. Iād be willing to bet almost anything D19 hasnāt looked at it yet. She has some for 4 of her classes. The reason Iām so glad i looked today is that the assignment for Comparative Gov AP is to log in to a discussion board, read a couple articles and make comments. The articles change every week and she is required to log in, read and make comments 5 different weeks this summer and no more than two weeks can be in a row. We try really really hard to get all homework done before band camp starts in early August so that plan is already shot. The assignment itself I think is good but she will have to stay on top of it which is not her strong suit.
Her schedule for senior year is a bit scary.
Honors English 12
Comparative Gov/US Gov AP
Multivar Calc DE
Physics C AP
Geospatial Analysis DE
Latin AP
Band
Iām getting anxious just looking at this list. Trust me, this is not my idea. The problem is that given this particular kid dropping down to an easier level (non honors or non AP) does not help at all. Iād feel better if one of the classes was dropped entirely and replaced with a study hall, especially since this kid is allergic to doing homework at home.
She is reluctant to drop any of them as they are all there for a good reason and the only one she would happily drop (English) is required for graduation.
We have summer homework here, but only for a few classes so itās definitely possible to avoid encountering any. The most notorious is APEC, which is a sophomore class here. Thatās a significant amount of reading and responding, as well as map-making. The rationale is that with such a dense course, they have to start at chapter 4 to get through all 21 chapters or whatever it is by early May. So my S21 is tackling this now. Other APs are much lighter with their loads. D19 does have a fair amount of reading to do for AP Lit. Her list feels sort of weird to me to be honestā¦two plays, which are hard to read cold, āOld Testament storiesā, a ānon-American book of poetry,ā and a choice of one of two novels, neither of which Iām familiar with. I was expecting more classics like some Dickens, Austen, Steinbeck. I wouldāve loved a summer assignment that was a nice long list of novels from which they could choose to read a realistic number. That would feel more like pleasure reading.
Iām not particularly opposed to some summer homework. Around here, they have 10 weeks and a lot of free time. My S21 spends 90% of his leisure time on his computer playing video games or watching YouTube. Heād be at risk of being a total couch potato all summer if it werenāt for his Boy Scout activities that keep him outdoors and active. Right now heās on a trek in Yosemite with 12 other scouts and dads, which I think is great. So throwing in several hoursā worth of APEC homework is okay with me. Keeps him mentally sharp and at least sort of tuned in to academics. Iām sure 95% of the overall student effort on these assignments gets done in the last 10 days before school starts again, which is probably okay.
I think itās fine to assign a book or two for summer homework for AP English. If youāre of the academic level to take AP English, reading two books over a 10 week period shouldnāt stress you much. When my kid was in the visual arts magnet, he had to do 3 portfolio-ready pieces and 7 sketches over the summer, of specific things. It was a huge battle to get these done. One of several reasons I was not sad when he dropped out of that program. He is supposed to select and start developing a monologue for the theatre magnet program. He already has two possibilities from the play he is in so itās not like itās any extra work.
When I was in high school (I think the summer before 11th grade?) I was assigned Tess of the dāUrbervilles as summer reading and I remember loathing that book. It just didnāt fit with summer - too relentlessly grim.
We start school August 13th and we still have the summer homework. I was looking at the actual assignment- itās not too hard but still a pain. For all 26 chapters of How to Read Like a Professor you have to record 3 ideas, insights or truths that the author writes about literature. Then when you read Dorian Gray you have to identify 5 ideas, insights or truths that you read about in the previous book and relate them to a scene, character or other event in Dorian Gray and explain what the authorās purpose was for including them in the book.
I would also not mind if they just had to read some great novel or novels then have work when they get back to school. Last year D had to read In Cold Blood then they discussed it and did some work on it in class.
D21 is bummed too - she has to read Mythology which is a very long, dense book in which she has zero interest! D23 got off the hook so far - middle school usually has to read a book (a choice of 4-5) then do a small project like a poster about it. This year nothing has been announced and he is so happy!
Iām not really sure what D19ās schoolās formal homework policy is, but sheās always had a couple books to read in summer, and one of them may just be the honors requirement. This final summer sheās reading Ta-Nahesi Coatesā āBetween the World and Meā and Toni Morrisonās āSong of Solomon.ā Both are, if youāre familiar with them, not super long. Sheās already finished the Coates book and I think is maybe halfway through the Morrison.
I donāt mind a book or two of summer reading over an 11+ week break. Iād probably be fussier if it was significantly more than that, but almost more because it would prevent D19 from delving into her own interests both scholarly (currently reading a paper on neutrinos, for example) and not (some crime show on Netflix).
My son has some summer homework for Calc AB that he should probably do closer to the start of the school year, about 10 hours of work for AP music theory that he said looks like it will be fun and relatively easy, and he needs to choose ā1 to 4ā books from a list of 15 to 20 that are based on themes they will study throughout the year in English. Iām pushing for two, but he hasnāt looked at the titles yet. There seems to be a pretty good variety. (The reading assignment is for all levels - whether a given teacher actually makes them do something related to the reading is a toss up). If there were a paper due on the first day of school, I would be annoyed.
Summer HW is not given across the board, but there are always a handful of teachers who assign it. Our schools start late August. Throw in the inevitable unnecessary snow days, and they are sometimes scrambling to finish by AP test time. It makes sense to cover an easy unit with a summer HW packet that counts as a quiz grade.
I donāt mind this amount of homework, but my kid did not exactly mentally exhaust or overwork himself during junior year, lol.
Hi Guys! I posted this also in parents of hs class 2020, but promised Iād let you know our tour thoughtsā¦first university down - Elon University. LOVED it! Here are the thoughts I posted (will post again after next tour!):
ā¦all I can say is WOW times 3! S19 LOVED it. Here are my key takeaways if anyone is interested:
I couldnt believe how beautiful it was. So many fountains! So many new buildingsā¦lots of construction, but campus was quiet when we toured.
Admissions session: loved that they used their students for everything - played music in the background from 3 of their a capella groups, showed a very professional video made by their graduated students, then talked about statistics, which all seemed to be on a constant climb upward the last 10 years. For instance - their diversity has grown from 2% to 17%ā¦still low, but the keyā¦itās growing. And I like that they did not try to āfluff upā the statistics to seem better. They just presented them and showed how they were working towards goals or made it better. Also, the admissions counselor talked about what parents want to hearā¦internships, growing research oppts, graduate in 4 years, etc. I liked that.
Tour: 10-15 tour guides came out and took 2-3 families each for a more personalized tour. Since I had 2 students, I had the guide all to myself (luckily, Iām an extrovert and can chat away). Very diverse set of happy students - all said major and all seems to have 1-3 minors as well.
Area: So cute - tried to get lunch in the little strip mall area, but most of it was closed for the July 4th week - except Subway and coffee, which we purchased both. Stayed in Burlington which had everything and talked at length to guide about what students do while there - seemed like enough was going on, enough to do for my kids.
Dislikes: Only small gripes - Info session was a pinch long because of video and presentationā¦maybe cut it by 5 minutes. Also, there was a tour guide who majored in neuroscience and minored in psychology, both my kids majors - (general), and lived in the state we were visiting from, but they put us with someone else who was a communications major who was a freshman (new to touring) and knew nothing about the pre-med track, science, or psychology. This made D20 (psychology) lose interest because guide talked about business, science center but nothing about psychā¦yet psychology is #5 ranked (somewhereā¦they mentioned), so it is a represented major there and guide should know more. The other guide could have sold both of them. If they are going to personalize it that much, they should look at the majors students list when signing up for the tour. Will try to take D20 back though next year if possible and request a guide that knows about psych. D19 definitely applying!
HTH (hope that helps!)
Whatās next in your road trip @cakeisgreat ?
@cakeisgreat Elon was our first tour and it was always high on my DD17ās list. What I loved about it was the January minimester, where they could do their abroad then, versus an entire semester. They dont give high amounts of merit, but their costs to begin with are lower than many other schools. The Campus is beautiful. BTW i have learned to pick the tour guide we want, versus the one that is assigned as this is suppose to be for us and our students. In the case of Elon, with the group being so small, might not have been able to do it, but at this point, I would have asked if we could switch or something. For future, when divided up, if possible, go with the one you want. I know College of Charleston, for example, you do get to pick .
@carolinamom2boys next up clemson, furman, and college of charleston! And thanks @sd0625 for the grwat info and advice! Will try those techniques definitely. I also liked the mini semester for abroad. I guess they dont offer summer classes which i thought was interesting but no worries for my kids who will need to work anyway.
@cakeisgreat Wofford also has a required " interim" class between Fall and Spring semesters where the students can study abroad or take a fun class for credit. I think that quite a few schools have started to do this. Safe travels to SC.
@cakeisgreat Looks like we are on the same path this summer. We were at Elon last month and D19 loved it but still not sure where it is on her list. Iād be thrilled if she ended up there. She did not love our tour guide (it was her first tour) which muted the experience.
In two weeks we are off to see College of Charleston, South Carolina, Furman and Clemson. We added in Furman even though she claims to not want a small school. She has not visited many small schools so thought we would give it a shot since we would be in the area.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts on the other visits coming up.
@carolinamom2boys I really wanted to look at Wofford also but couldnt squeeze it inā¦going to research more online.
@DCNatFan thats great about Elonā¦it will be interesting to see where it ends up on the final list for our kiddos. Iād love to hear your thoughts also on Clemson, Furman, and CofC if youāre up to posting.
After the above cluster, visiting Vtech and U Richmond also. I love tours 
still nagging S19 to visit Wake Forest.
Thanks for the review of Elon, @cakeisgreat. Itās consistent with ours (about a year ago), and it remains high on D19ās list. Did you get to see inside the new Schar Center? Have they been building any new dorms recently?
@cakeisgreat feel free to PM me with any questions regarding Wofford. I have visited and toured many times, have friends whose children attend there and DS16 was a Wofford Scholar. Itās a great school, small . Less than 1800 students . They just went test optional . You may also want to check out the YouTube videos . Wofford was very high on DS16ās list and is high on DS 19ās list.
Summer AP assignments - we donāt start until after Labor Day, so I get why some classes do it, but itās a bit frustrating. This week itās EXTREMELY frustrating because the students are supposed to post something by July 6 and reply to two other posts about Life of Pi (posts had to be made this week - itās weekly, and they can take one week off)ā¦ but the school division changed the websites and EVERYTHING is gone. The assignment page is gone, the student portal where they were to post is inaccessible, the email list for Staff (so canāt even contact teacher). Iād told S19 to print out the pages but he thought I was being sadly old-fashionedā¦ now he wishes he had lol. At least heād know what the next assignmnets are, and possibly an email address or two for the teachers. He called the school and they claim the content will be back by end of week, but I believe that like I believe Channing Tatum is going to waltz through the door at work and carry me off! LOL
@homerdog AP Chem for my S19 was 150 problems which took a few hours per day the full month of August. He is a bit of a slower worker but I thought it was insane because he also had a book and a paper for English (and a test day 1), two books and a paper for APUSH, and a bunch of math (and he was in the regular level for that). I see little value in the summer workā¦at least at this level.
@DCNatFan, Furman was a strong contender here until almost the end. Their admission office was top notch throughout the whole process. PM me if you want names of whom we worked with.
@SwimmingDad thatās awful!! I forget - do the kids at your school have to tKe honors Chem before AP Chem? Ours do. Maybe thatās why we donāt have summer work?