Inside Blair • Marisa Schweber-Koren
	Summer homework

That stack of books in the corner...the typed homework assignments...the blank word document...all reminders of the school year left behind. They are also reminders of the work you are supposed to be doing during your free period. Does the schoolwork you are given really prepare you for the upcoming year? Does it challenge a student during the summer or just become busywork?

The threat of the summer work being ten percent of the first quarter grade in classes like history and English looms over all Blair students alike, whether they choose to stay home for the summer or go away.

The point of summer is to relax and take a break from the stress of homework and projects. It is also a time for teachers to regroup and complete all those tasks they couldn’t during the school year. However, with the addition of summer work, teachers are forced to grade immediately as they return to school, and students never get the rest they have been anticipating all school year.

On the other hand, I would be hard-pressed to find a high schooler who did their summer assignment early, or even managed their time wisely over the summer. Most students (like me, I will admit) leave the assignment to the last minute which, in summer terms, means the week before school begins again in late August.

So if most students leave their summer work for the last week anyway, how is the work infringing on their summer?

Well, I would argue that even the thought of summer work is enough to hurt the precious summer months. I may not start my summary of my summer novel for English until late into the summer, but that does not mean I have not been reading the book all summer.

Also, some homework assignments force the students to do work when they may not be easily able to because of summer plans. For History one year, I was supposed to gather newspaper clippings over the summer about one specific topic. The catch was that no more than two articles could be from the same week. This presents a problem. What if a student is backpacking or is overseas and does not have access to an English-language media outlet? He or she is out of luck for that ten percent of the first quarter.

The school system should not be punishing students for using their summer to relax. I agree that students may lose some knowledge over the summer, but the homework that is given does not prevent that. While I may forget how to factor, I will not forget how to read over a two-and-a-half-month period.

So with that in mind—Dear beloved teachers of mine–please think twice in the future about assigning homework that you know will be done at the last minute and that is not really preparing me for the following year. As much I love summaries and analysis questions, what I really adore is a free summer.