7 reasons why teachers shouldn’t assign homework over the holidays
December 12, 2018
- Students, especially those in high-level, heavy work-load classes, are overloaded during the school year with projects, studying, and homework to be done. The holidays are a part of the school year that give students a good chunk of time to recharge so that they may continue working rigorously come the second semester and avoid a burn out; but if they have to spend their time worrying about when they are going to find time to get their work done, then the time they are given to relax is essentially pointless.
- The holidays are the time of the year when people all around the world gather together to spend time with family; often-times family they haven’t seen for a long time. Homework over the holiday’s interrupts student’s abilities to make memories and connections with the people who will be in their lives forever, rather than an assignment they will most likely forget in a week.
- If teachers are assigning busy work to students, it is immoral and pointless… studies suggest that busy work accomplishes zero learning, succeeding in wasting the students time to relax and have fun, along with the teacher’s time grading it.
- Many students travel to see family, or just go on vacation. In this case, making students worry about the work they must do, again, taking away time from more important things. If travelling, the student should be focused on learning from their experiences, not an assignment that could probably be given during school time.
- Teachers, rather than assigning homework, could assign other, optional educational experiences, such as attending a cultural event or getting out of the house for an optional extended learning opportunity to get a running start to their second semester grade. Nothing that should make a student stress out during their time off.
- Often times, when students are assigned homework over a break, many put off the assignment until the last minute, resulting in work that does not truly demonstrate the student’s full abilities.
- Student-athletes are often required to practice during winter break. Working a schedule around practice, maybe work, family, along with fitting in homework could be difficult and make their break feel stressful.