<p>On the student board, several students lament that they haven’t finished their summer homework.</p>
<p>Summer homework is an OUTRAGE! Don’t today’s students have enough to do during the regular school year? Why do parents and students put up with this intrusion into what should be free time? Free time is not free time if students are REQUIRED to use it in a certain way.</p>
<p>When I was in high school (1988-1992), big summer homework assignments were unthinkable, even for most Honors/AP classes. The only class for which we were REQUIRED to do work during the summer was AP US History, and even then, it wasn’t assigned until registration and wasn’t that intense. (No 20-page term paper.) This class had a workload FAR more torrential than any other AP class at my school.</p>
<p>I remember reading once about a lawsuit over summer homework for Pre-Calculus. To my surprise, people on the Yahoo and Freerepublic message boards were on the school’s side instead of the side of the student forced to do summer Pre-Calculus homework. (OK, OK, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Freerepublic posters were on the authoritarian side given all their other views.) I earned a 5 on my AP Calculus AB Exam, and I was NEVER forced to do summer homework for Pre-Calculus.</p>
<p>I was the salutatorian of my high school class. I was the overworked super-achiever of my day. Yet today’s students make my old self look like Ferris Bueller in comparison. Also, I’ve since distanced myself from the Academic Performance Cult - the workload just wasn’t sustainable, and the payoff for being an A student instead of a B student just isn’t enough. There is NO WAY I would be salutatorian if I were in high school today. In fact, I’d get my clock cleaned like Ted Kennedy running for office in Utah.</p>
<p>My daughter had a lengthy AP English assignment that included reading two novels, writing character sketches, thematic statements, plot summaries, and then an essay. On top of that, she had to be prepared for an objective test on one of the novels on the first day back at school. </p>
<p>Although she read one of the novels earlier in the summer, I told her to wait and read the one to be tested on just the week before school started back so that the details would be fresh in her mind for the test. Undoubtedly, her last week of summer was spent with hours of homework. That was a bummer, but at least she does like English a lot and did not complain nearly as much as others did.</p>
<p>Our school only gives summer homework for AP classes.</p>
<p>Oh please. What else do you have to do that you can’t spend an hour a day making sure your brain doesn’t turn to mush? Nowhere is it written that summer should be responsibility-free. </p>
<p>I had summer reading and sometimes summer math in elementary, middle, and high school—and I graduated in 1972 (of course, I went to private schools). Sometimes I even chose to go to summer school–because the alternatives were staying home and arguing with my mother.</p>
<p>Both of my kids have had summer homework while in HS. At a minimum, they’ve had to read three assigned novels. This summer, HS son read, “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut, “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer and “The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara. He is not taking AP English – every student has to read three novels, which vary by grade level. So what? I would hope he could find the time to read three novels in three months. Actually, he likes to read, and has read about eight other novels since June. Would he choose those which are assigned? Probably not, but they are worthwhile books and I’m glad he has to. </p>
<p>He is also taking AP Biology and has to read four chapters before school starts. Once again, I’m glad he has that assignment. These are essentially review chapters, and it gets him warmed up for school. Other than volunteering and his involvment in a mentoring program, he’s had a lot of free time this summer.</p>
<p>My daughter reads daily no matter if she has a specific homework assignment or not. I guess the summer reading is geared to helping them get off to an early start on day one of the school year. They already had something to discuss on the first day, had papers to peer-edit, etc. The teacher did not grade their summer work too strictly; she used it as a starting point to see where their writing weaknesses lay.</p>
<p>How many of you have Accelerated Reader programs in your schools? Our system implements it from K-12. Even our high schoolers have to read books and test on them outside other class assignments throughout the school year. They actually must accumulate a certain number of AR points for each class they take each year, and they count as 5% of their second and fourth quarter averages. Many of the kids complain that high schoolers should not have to participate, but I have seen my daughters read so many great classics through this program. It truly has fostered a love for reading since kindergarten in both of them. The school always rewards the top ten readers at the end of each semester with a special lunch off campus, too!</p>
<p>Our HS does summer reading for honors English and AP English. Not sure about other schools but I have been told that ours uses it to make sure the kids in those classes are up to the work. If you show up the first day and haven’t done the reading, don’t have the notes, or Flunk the test because you didn’t read, they suggest firmly that you switch to the lower level Also they have so many books to get through in those classes that reading two over the summer helps lighten the load during the year. I don’t like the idea that they have summer homework but I understand why they do it.</p>
<p>In states where school starts in late August/early September, summer homework is almost necessary in AP classes. The exams are given in early May to cater to the southern states with early August starts/mid-May finishes. Kids in those states get 4-5 extra weeks of classroom time for APs. In places that start after Labor Day (like Massachusetts and NYC), without HW kids would start school at a disadvantage. Of course, the challenge on the flip side is what to do with the five weeks of school after the AP tests are given.</p>
<p>That’s my problem with the summer HW. I think AP tests should be given in line with a school’s calendar, not with Texas school’s calendar.</p>
<p>My D’s High School assigns summerwork for ALL honors/AP classes. The summer before her freshman year she had work equivalent to 3 weeks of classtime and homework. It was outrageous and irrelevant. Her math class had to read “Flatlanders” which is a story about a geometric world so I understand how it would be interesting to a geometry teacher, but it is written at a 12+ grade reading level (my minister had to read it in seminary!) Talk about discouraging a student interested in math by assigning a difficult reading assignment. If a student does not do the summer homework they are not allowed to take the honors class and summer work is graded as a major test(s). </p>
<p>She really hasn’t had a break this summer because she spent four weeks at a college summer program and had four HS classes to prepare for. She’s looking forward to next summer after she graduates so she doesn’t have to do summer homework for the first time in four years! </p>
<p>I’m also seeing the backlash of this on her younger sibling who is dreading next summer when she’ll be a rising freshman and have to do all that homework. </p>
<p>My question is… if it’s so important for honors kids to keep their brains active during the summer, why isn’t it just as important for the college prep kids?</p>
<p>My son and daughter have always had summer reading. One is a AP student, and the other a good ole regents student. Right now my son is “supposed” to be reading SEABISCUIT. Hasn’t picked up the book until this week. Between his summer job and his travel baseball team ( Long Island Champs this year)
he clearly did not have the team to read. He went to the library and rented the audio cassettes and has been listening to 3 of the a day. 10 in total!</p>
<p>Now my daughter who is going into her freshman year in college was also given two books to read. Of course her’s are done! LOL But honestly she didn’t have the time to read these books with all the preparation and planning
with this college transition. </p>
<p>I have to say I think summer vacation, should mean a vacation and alittle time off from all the pressures of school. They have their whole life for the added joys of the pressure and stress, let them be kids for as long as they can!</p>
<p>I personally have no problem with a nominal amount of summer reading, but do with summer homework: papers, math packets, art projects, etc. There is a lot more in this world for children/young adults to do in the summer other than school work. The break from the school year can be enriching, invigorating, and educational. Summer is a time for students to explore personal interests, participate in sports, hold a job, perform volunteer work and travel. These activities can be more educational than any summer homework assignment. By having the time to explore personal interests (including reading for pleasure), the student can focus in on what area they might want to pursue in both education and life. By participating in sports, holding a job or volunteering, students can learn team-work, responsibility, and the social skills necessary to be a productive member of society. By having the time to travel, the student can learn about history, art, science as well as the diversity of our society and others.</p>
<p>Summers during high school should also include time to prepare for standardized tests, apply for scholarships, write college essays, etc. without the day to day pressure of school. Summer school is also widely available for students who would like to take an extra course or get ahead in a subject area. </p>
<p>It should also be a time to socialize and build friendships and relationships.</p>
<p>I know some might argue that unless summer homework is assigned, a student will not do anything. However, it is our parental responsibility (starting in early childhood) to guide our children to fill their summers with meaningful experiences. It is our responsibility not to let them fall into the habit of laying around on the couch watching TV or playing video games all summer. It is our responsibility to nurture them to go forth into the world prepared to function at all levels (intellectually, socially, and emotionally).</p>
<p>School starts the fifth… today is the first… and I have not started my summer homework. I have time.</p>
<p>Reading a book or three is cake. I’ve read 5 or 6 books this summer in my spare time. Analyzing important documents from before the Revolutionary War is ten times as annoying. I do not care about the Declaratory Act of 1766. No one can make me care.</p>
<p>I have always thought my kids’ school had a great policy for summer homework. In the lower grades, they read one or two short books (all 3rd graders’ books are short), and usually did a fun project related to the book when school started. They had math books to do, which were angst producing in our household, but basically a good idea to keep skills up during the summer. These workbooks were very much review.
Middle school was similar, but now there was a short test related to the book read, and an essay to write, but all that was done after school started - the novels chosen were relatively short - The Old Man and the Sea.
High school, they read books for English and history classes, nothing for math. AP classes read different books, but don’t necessarily read more books. There is a test and class discussion, but a fast reader could read the novel as you went along with the class.
None of this seemed overly burdensome for a college prep curriculum.</p>
<p>Sly, I hear you, and I live in a Southern state - although I didn’t know the COllegeBoard was catering to us??? Refer over the thread on block schedules. AP tests should be given at the end of AP classes, whenever that time is. They can still deliver all the scores in the summer, or just rotate 2-3 versions of the test for the students taking the test in Dec and those taking in the spring.</p>
<p>Our school requires two books for Eng. with a small project accompanying each one. The beef is that most teachers don’t even care about these requirements. It’s something the school admin. came up with. I pushed S2 all summer to read but he only got about half of it done. He figured out that he could complete the projects without having to read the whole book. He says all the teachers know the kids aren’t getting the books read and don’t make a big deal out of it. His Eng . teacher told them that if they get the work in by the end of the semester it would be OK. They can’t really have class discussions about the books because the students could chose from a list of 6 which 2 they wanted to read. The projects include silly busywork like looking up 20 vocabulary words from the novel.<br>
S works at his parttime job in the summer and spends the rest of his time at varsity football practice. I think it is a waste of time and effort. If the teachers don’t care about it, why should the students?</p>
<p>My son carefully didn’t do any of his summer reading until this week because he knew there was a good chance he’d end up in different classes. Sure enough - he’d signed up for Honors English, considered taking AP English, but both conflicted with the science courses he wanted to take so he’s taking “Myths and Legends” and happy he didn’t read anything for either of the other two English courses. That said he’s said he’d much rather just start school a week earlier rather than have about a weeks’ worth of summer homework. He has two books to read for AP Economics (but one is just a mystery), the English translation of the Aenied which he’s also supposed to outline, and skim the Illiad for AP Latin, memorize some formulas for Chemistry, nothing for math or astrophysics. And now just one book for English - though the AP would have required more plus two essays. My incoming freshman had to read one book (from a choice of four or five) and answer some pretty easy questions. They generally have them write an essay on the summer reading with a week or two to see what the class needs to learn about writing the standard essay.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect juniors and seniors who will be graduating in two years or less to do some summer homework, which IME no matter how much people complain is generally minimal work. Being expected to read one or two books over three months is hardly unreasonable. This reading can be done anywhere, it’s not an excuse to say “well I was here or there or had to this.” Can people honestly say that in almost three months they had absolutely zero time to ever read? If so that is not good and they should really look into their schedule. Mine is fairly full and I certainly had time to read.</p>
<p>Better to get some of it done during the summer. We have to do our extended essays (IB research project) now (summer before senior year). We COULD do it during the year, but they probably know by now that no one would have time to do it. I’m sure there will be a lot of people who choose not to have their draft done by the due date next week and they will probably pay for that later. It will be far harder to complete it once school starts. </p>
<p>All our english classes have reading assignments, regular or not. Pre Ib and IB have more, although we should have more than we have. We used to finish two of the books in the summer, in the last two years they have switched to one, despite the fact they complain about how hard it is to finish all the book before the IB exam and sometimes during the year we’re expected to done with a novel in less than a week in addition to projects and other research, and that is just one class. I feel it could be avoided by at least prereading the books during the summer, but instead they probably caved to the pressure of parents complaining “it’s too much blah blah blah my child shouldn’t have to READ during the summer.” And then those parents will probably complain when their child gets a 3 on the AP exam or isn’t reading on grade level.</p>
<p>:(
These arguments remind me of my parents, now in their eighties, who live tiny lives in their own tiny world. Our careful, stilted conversations are painful to us all. They have “no time” to read, despite being 20 years into retirement with absolutely no outside commitments on their time. They watch the evening news but have no idea what it means. They have no grasp of geography and no idea where events are taking place. No notion of science, medicine, or technology more recent than the 1940s, when they left high school. On this CC thread I keep hearing about people being “made” to read and presumably made to think about what they’ve read. It’s more than preparing for college acceptance, folks. It’s about preparing to live in the world.</p>