Winter break: a time for family, fun and relief from a difficult semester. But often times this relief from work is interrupted by assignments over break. So is it a good idea to give winter assignments? Does this help students or hinder them? Several teachers and some students were asked to share their opinions on the matter.
Science and AP Biology teacher Karen Walters talked about why she chose to ditch homework assignments over vacation.
“I did not assign anything over break,” Walters said. “I feel that is important for us all to have down time and focus on family and the amazing birth of Christ. It is a time to focus on others. I actually think that students will do better on a “fresh” brain. The only consideration I can think of would be an AP class if we had that 3rd week in break. It might help the AP students to get warmed up again and start back quicker. With only 2 weeks, I say rest!”
AP Stats and Science teacher Scott Bucher spoke about why he does not like to assign an overbreak assignment this year.
“I have not assigned winter assignments for a couple of reasons,” Bucher said. “First, my classes are not project oriented. Most of the work is hands on in class or daily work that has to be mastered in order to go on to the next assignment. My experience as a student was that winter break assignments ruined my winter break because I procrastinated until the end and worried about it the whole time. Because of that I found that it wasn’t done well and didn’t result in much learning.”
English and AP Literature teacher Andrea Donaghe talked about why she chose to assign winter break homework.
I also think that assigning some work over break prevents me as a teacher from overloading them during the rest of the school year-it allows me to cover all my curriculum for these two classes without overwhelming my kids. I have seen students that complete the winter break assignments successfully do great the rest of the school year. — Andrea Donaghe
“I assign winter break assignments to AP and Honor students due to the fact that the workload (especially for AP) is equivalent to a college class, we don’t see all our students everyday and the rigor that is demanded to earn the Honors credit/AP credit and to pass the AP test,” Donaghe said. “The benefits of assigning the work is that these students are keeping up with the momentum of working (through break) and that they are earning the credit for Honors and/or preparing for the AP test.”
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Donaghe also talked about the benefit of assigning overbreak assignments.
“I also think that assigning some work over break prevents me as a teacher from overloading them during the rest of the school year-it allows me to cover all my curriculum for these two classes without overwhelming my kids,” Donaghe said. “I have seen students that complete the winter break assignments successfully do great the rest of the school year.”
AP US and Euro teacher Kori Friesen feels that a bit of work is necessary over vacation, especially for AP and other advances courses.
“In an AP class the amount of curriculum that needs to be covered prior to the test is extensive,” Friesen said. “Without utilizing every ounce of time to be efficient we run out of time . In a nutshell, the quicker we get through the units the more review time we get on the back end right before the test. The benefits are that these assignments are keeping your head in the game. Both my AP classes used their break to work on a writing assignment that allowed more time without the pressure of other class work and spent time reviewing units already studied to keep it fresh in their minds.”
Sophomore and AP student Josh Oakley voiced his personal opinion of winter homework, and how it helps maintain energy throughout the year.
“I think that over break assignments help students in AP classes because it keeps them in a working groove,” Oakley said. “If I was a teacher I believe that I would assign over break assignments, but it would depend on the class.”
Sophomore and AP US student Juliana Lozano spoke about her experience with break homework.
“Despite the fact that winter break assignments can be tiring I believe that they help the student so that the student can get more practice for the school year and not lose all of their skills they acquired over the first semester.” Lozano said. “I think I would assign small assignments just so the students can stay aware of the material they had learned.”
This writer can be reached via Twitter: @matthewsue1 and via email: Matthew Sue.
