With the end of the school year approaching, are students being assigned summer homework? I hope so. Educators, including myself, are concerned that summer vacation is negatively impacting learning regardless of economic backgrounds.
Research proves that the long summer disrupts the learning and instructional rhythm resulting in forgetting skills learned and time lost to review the same material once school restarts. A study confirmed that, on average, achievement test scores declined once summer vacation began especially in math. Reading scores are more sustainable because the out of school environment provides more opportunities to practice reading.
Our schools are continuously under pressure from other educators, politicians, and parents for children to produce academically – to achieve at their optimum level. Summer assignments can help maintain learned content. Assignments can vary from required reading assignments to specified practice in mathematics.
Educators argue that students have a tough time remembering skills throughout the school year with the built-in holidays, particularly the primary grades. During the summer, assigned grade level work connected to skills learned during the year and subjects studied will reinforce learning and keep the instructional rhythm.
Parents and high school students against summer assignments complain that they [students] are overworked and do not have time to relax. Parents affirm that summer assignments are busy work.
Other parents support summer learning even when the teachers do not give assignments. When the school year is over, parents enroll children in science camps, courses offered at local colleges, library reading groups, arts and crafts, etc. for children and young adults. Even though the brain is predominately gray and white matter that is very different than muscle, many contend that there is good reason to treat it like a muscle with the ‘use it or lose it’ theory. Stimulation improves brain function and reduces the risk of cognitive decline and related diseases.
I am not an advocate of summer homework if it means tons of workbook pages or handouts to read – activity for activity sake. I’m advocating assigning a high-interest novel or two, a writing assignment in one or two of the genres, and/or an inquiry based science project that connects mathematics. The summer assignments are to be discussed when school restarts with the teachers to provide:
• a purpose
• be efficient in content rich material
• provide ownership for both the teacher and the student
• differentiated (not one size fits all)
• appealing (not the dreaded worksheets)
• have a method to communicate tasks not understood
With school budgets being cut to make ends meet, many schools are dropping summer programs causing grade/subject level teachers to assign summer homework to prevent learning deficits.
Kids have time to sit in front of the television, play video games, or use their smart phones; certainly they can take a few minutes a week to read or complete a project. A few suggestions to make summer homework fun:
• get together in groups and complete the work
• have a homework pool party
• go to the beach to work
• or have a picnic lunch
Scheduling a time to work is important. Prioritize the assignments and set a time limit for working. The most important thing to stress to students is not to wait until the week before school starts to begin their assignments.
