Although some may see summer assignments as a burden that takes time away during the summer, others can agree that the somewhat annoying work can provide many benefits for both students and teachers.
One benefit that comes along with the summer projects is the material that teachers assign gives students a preview of what their class is going to be like, it will help them prepare for what’s to come in the future. “I work hard on my summer assignments because I want to be more knowledgeable about what I will be learning in the upcoming year,” sophomore Zain Ghul said.
Not only do the assignments help the students prepare, but they also allow teachers to see what type of work ethic each student has. They give teachers a little sneak peek and help them get a feel of the students they are going to have all year long.
The summer assignments can show my different abilities as a student and can help put me in the teachers good graces, Ghul said.
Others believe that summer work helps keep students in the school mindset so when they return at the end of the summer they aren’t overwhelmed.
With all of the free time during the summer students can become lazy and less involved with school, these assignments can help keep students engaged so when they arrive at the beginning of the year it is easier for them to transition from summer to school.
The assignments also allow teachers to go straight into their lessons when the school year starts. For example, if a student is assigned to read a book over the summer, when they return to school the teacher can easily dive into lessons about the book because everyone has already read it. This also can prevent wasted time at the beginning of the year.
The projects can also be used as a big boost in students grades during the beginning of the year depending on the grade they receive on the assignments. Since the assignments are the first really big grade put into the grade book for the year they can really benefit students and help them start off the year strong.
I put in hard work when dealing with summer assignments because they count for so much in the beginning of the year, they can really make or break your grade, junior Michael Leahy said.
Another good thing about summer assignments is they keep students up to date over the summer, so they don’t forget everything they have learned over the years during the break and have to start all over again.
Some might argue that the assignments can put a large amount of stress on students but this is only because most students wait until the last week of summer to do them when they are supposed to be done periodically throughout the summer.
Although most students complain about the extra work given to them over the vacation, what they don’t realize is that it will eventually end up really helping them in the long run.