Summer Homework? You Gotta Be Kidding!

When that last school bell rings in late June, most kids feel that joyful anticipation of sweet, lazy summer days – that delicious feeling of knowing that, for a couple of months, there are no more assignments, no more teachers and definitely no more homework. Every kid knows that great feeling . . . right?

Not so fast. According to my son, Paolo, a rising eighth grader at Glenfield School, "Summer homework completely destroys the summer because it feels like extended school, with a deadline hanging over your head," he said. He and his friend Owen Daly-Smith declare in unison: "It sucks!"

Another of Paolo's friends, Glenfield eighth grader Blake Lapin, had this to say: "Well, I understand that teachers want us to be prepared for next year, but I feel that we all need to have a break, a real break ... without having to worry about school."

In fact, many Montclair parents I spoke with expressed similar concerns. "I believe that a reasonable amount of homework over the summer is fine, to keep kids' brains working," said Betsy Ackelsberg, mother of three children in the Montclair school district. "The question is: How much is reasonable? More than a few hours per week would not feel like a break to them."

Montclair resident Lisa Westriech, also a mother of three, commented: "I don't disagree with the idea of keeping your mind moving during the summer. The average kid isn't going to do anything academic (unless it's assigned)." 

Laura Hall, who has two sons in the Montclair school district, shared a similar mindset. "Procrastination is the name of the game for us. I admire these kids who get their summer homework done early -- I know kids who read 25 books in the summer! That's not what's happening here. I'm lucky if my kids read three." 

Still, Hall, who has worked as a Teacher's Assistant in the Livingston public schools, can see the value of it from an educator's point of view: "It jumpstarts the September assessment process because it allows the schools to have a grade in the grade book early on," she observed. Nonetheless, she doesn't believe in summer homework. "This year we're going on vacation a week earlier, partly because of these stupid projects," she said. "It's not worth it. Summer should be a break and a time to learn new things. We make sure our kids get enriching experiences on vacation."

Robert Daly-Smith, a CUNY professor and Montclair father of two including Owen, cited above, laughed at the idea that summer homework is any big deal. "I don't have a problem with it. It's antithetical," he said. "Of course the kids hate it."

But most parents I spoke with seemed divided on the subject. While they were willing to accept that there is some value in summer homework (Ackelsberg clarified, "it keeps the kids a little bit connected to the discipline of school, which will hopefully make for an easier transition when they come back in the fall") for many families it creates a stressful situation that parents and kids need a break from.

"The amount of work they made them do last year at the high school level was insane," Westreich remembered. For her family "it felt oppressive. It forced us into a bad dynamic. Here I am, wanting him to do what he's supposed to do, and he's thinking, 'this is ridiculous'."

My own daughter, Francesca, who graduated from Montclair High School in June (as did Westreich's son), worked hard on summer homework for six summers straight. "I absolutely hated it," she said now. "It was so unfair. I had to bring it with me on vacation. I spent weeks and weeks on it. It was horrible."

Even worse was what happened in September when the students turned their homework in.

"Some teachers wouldn't even look at it, or they just checked it in," she said. "Even if you got a 100 on it, there were no repercussions for the kids who didn't do it. It was a waste of time. I'm absolutely sorry I ever did it."

That sentiment was echoed by many of the families I spoke with. "I would tell my son 'this is an assignment you need to do well on.' He did it but it created a lot of stress," Hall confided. "Then he would find out other kids got extensions on it, or didn't do it at all. He was not rewarded for his work."

In fact, several Montclair teachers reported that they felt summer homework, while important in theory, was hard to reinforce in practice. 

Deborah Grasso, a Math Instructor at Renaissance Middle School, stated: "It's a noble thought, that students keep their minds active with reviewing math concepts (in the summer). The problem lies with students who DO the work versus those who don't. Many families travel, and their children do not complete the assignments. It's a difficult decision on how to fairly grade the assignments."

Another middle school teacher in the Montclair school district (who preferred to remain anonymous) had a similar view. "I don't give summer work because too many students will not do the assignment. Therefore, a grading issue is created.  Summer assignments are needed, but it will take an 85-percent-plus buy-in from educators, students, and parents."

Far from buying into it, the only schools in town that seem to be assigning homework this summer are the middle schools, with Montclair High School abandoning the practice altogether for grades 10 and up. See related Patch story here. With families so divided on the issue, not to mention teachers having a hard time getting students on board with summer projects, one wonders what the future of summer homework in Montclair will be.

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