鈥凌颈苍驳驳驳驳驳驳驳驳!鈥�
The last bell rang. The halls are silent and students have been dismissed for the school year into the warm summer sun.
It鈥檚 time for a well-needed break from structured learning and time to engage in play and curiosity.
For too long schools have tried to control what students are responsible for outside of school doors, whether it is homework or summer assignments. Teachers have been told or have felt that these expectations foster accountability and deeper learning.
And perhaps for some, it does, but for most, it doesn鈥檛.
Just like with homework, summer assignments highlight equity issues that go far beyond students not being capable of doing the learning. Let鈥檚 not forget that we don鈥檛 want to promote a culture that starts students in a deficit.
After having a rich conversation on social media (Facebook and Twitter) about the need for mandatory summer assignments, there seems to be a consensus that mandatory summer assignments aren鈥檛 a thing we should promote. Teachers, administrators, students, and parents shared their concerns and dismay with the practice.
Here are some of their ideas:
Gerald Aungst said, 鈥淟ove them. In fact, let鈥檚 make mandatory play assignments that count upon return to school. A checklist of things students have to do during the summer or else they start off the year in the hole right out of the gate. Things such as wade in a stream, play street stickball and attend a pool party.鈥�
Anastasia Papis said, 鈥渨hen I used to get them it always felt like pressure to do as many as you could and you would feel bad when you didn鈥檛. I am all for reading but I think it would be better for kids to feel encouraged more to want to read on their own instead of being forced during the summer when they also want that time to relax or even work before they have to do it all over again in the next school year.鈥�
Jim Detwiler said, 鈥淏ig fat NO. So many things wrong with it. Equity and access issues. And don鈥檛 even get me started on grading practices. (You may have hit a nerve, can you tell?).鈥�
Tammy Turlington Neil said, 鈥淓ven if everyone did the work, what about the kid that moves in during the summer and doesn鈥檛 know about the assignment. How is that fair? Definitely a big NO.鈥�
Kate LaRoue said, 鈥淔or AP World History, where you cover 10,000 years of History, it is critical. Most students are capable of reading a few pages, taking some notes on the Neolithic and Paleolithic eras, freeing up class time for the classical period when we start. I am no longer allowed to do this, as our school ended summer assignments. I required it to be turned in two weeks after the start of school, when they could use the notes to write a base line essay. Students did better if they read, but the essay was achievable if they had not. This delay also allowed students registering late to still do the assignment. Now, I have to assign it as homework the first week, along with what I usually do. It puts a larger load on the students since we didn鈥檛 get an early start on the curriculum.鈥�
Shoshana Seid said, 鈥淐ount?! No. Of course, I encourage reading but threatening that it 鈥渃ounts鈥� for something鈥擭O. I feel the same way about HW too.鈥�
Delilah Kellinghaus said, 鈥淎s a 20-year English teacher I say NO. I have taught mandatory summer reading and the results were never positive. I always found the classroom reading and productive struggle much more beneficial for students.鈥�
Pernille Ripp said, 鈥淭hat we have no right to mandate what kids do over the summer unless they voluntarily signed up for a class that requires it.鈥�
Justin Parmenter said, 鈥淚f we think teachers need to unplug and practice self-care in the summer in order to be at their best in the fall, then why would the same not be true for students?鈥�
Steven Weber said, 鈥淚鈥檓 not a fan. Some students move to the school late in the summer. Some schools make Ss pay for the book. Some of the assignments are busy work. Some students start the 1st day of class with a C/D grade.鈥�
Courtney Johnson said, 鈥淲hat? No way. Summer is summer. We get to tell them what to do 9 months out of the year. Let kids (and for the younger ones, their parents) make decisions about what to do during their summer. If they want to read, they will. If they want to read something challenging, they will.鈥�
Michael Horton said, 鈥淢ost of our high school students take one or two online college courses over the summer (by choice). AP students get prep work. Incoming 6th graders get a reading assignment. The office is open all summer if they need resources. We loan Chromebooks if needed.鈥�
Sarah Nichols said, 鈥淩eading is a joy and shouldn鈥檛 be required but rather celebrated and encouraged by exposing learners of all ages to books that fit their interests, questions and ability levels.鈥�
Kristen Bruck said, 鈥淪eeing the pages-long assignment my 9yo has to do this summer, I totally get when my 10th-grade students come to me hating to read. I am tempted to tell my own kids just not to do their assignments and read what they want!:
What we can do instead is provide resources for students who are interested in pursuing them and encourage them to do things that inspire them in their free time without the consequence of getting a bad grade. There are so many resources available through public libraries and school libraries for families to enjoy. Let鈥檚 promote a love of reading, but providing help and not expecting them to be used.
Steven Weber said, 鈥淚 would support student choice. Students choose from a list of books. Post blog posts throughout the summer.鈥�
Laura Mossa said, 鈥淲e are hosting an in-school book swap and family book bingo night to make sure all students have books to read over the summer. Our school library will be open for check out this summer and we are using @Flipgrid to share summer reading recommendations.鈥�
Karen Cribby said, 鈥淲e use discussion boards for them to share what they鈥檙e reading (and we join in). I鈥檓 adamant though, that S鈥� don鈥檛 鈥渄o鈥� anything other than enjoy what they鈥檙e reading.鈥�
Matthew Winters said, 鈥淢odeling what summer reading looks like. On our last day I brought in the books I plan to read this summer and told the students about the importance of continuing their reading patterns. It got through to a good percentage.鈥�
Lindsay Hall said, 鈥淏y talking about books with them all year, by showing them that reading can be fun once you find the right book, and by sending them off with a list of books you think they鈥檒l like .鈥�
Jacqui Cebrian said, 鈥淚 meet with my students and talk about what is in their plan. I try to send home books with them when I can. I鈥檓 very fortunate to be in a well-funded district and avail myself of all the cheap books I can find. I don鈥檛 treat it as icing. It鈥檚 the cake. I have a lot to say on this subject I guess. Summer reading bulletin board by the office...Set up an Instagram account just to post books to and add that to the summer reading recs I put out every year to encourage interaction over the summer and keep ideas flowing. And finally, new this year, I鈥檓 joining the superintendent at a farmers market booth this weekend as part of my summer reading outreach. In short ( but not really), I do everything I can think of. Also made summer reading slideshow with some book trailers embedded.鈥�
Gina Hess said, 鈥淲e have a great list of books chosen by kids and librarians in Florida, . I always give this list to my students at the end of the school year. My biggest goal is for them to read books that they choose, and this list gives them a good place to start.鈥�
Let鈥檚 spend more time in school promoting a culture of curiosity and learning that transcends school, not because we want to grade kids on it or give them extra credit or punish them for not doing it, but because learning for the sake of learning is its own reward. We can foster a love of reading in so many different ways.