why do teachers give homework on holidays

Why We Should Give Students a Homework Break Over the Holidays

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I have so many fond memories from holiday seasons growing up: the smell of delicious food being made by my Mexican and Filipino families, warm light on the faces of my relatives, and lots of laughter. As I got older, though, things changed—mostly because I had so much homework to do.

Instead of joking with our relatives at the holidays, my brother and I would often sequester ourselves at the edge of the room, thick textbooks open and pens in our hands. Sometimes, we’d miss events altogether. When we did attend, the ramifications could be intense. During one spring break, I chose to go to an Easter party with my family. But by midnight, I was stress-weeping because I had so much work to do by the next day.

As a teacher, I now understand the temptation to give work over school breaks. There never seems to be enough time to do the projects or read the texts I’d like to with my kids, and asking students to work or read during breaks eases that crunch. I also worry that my students will lose some of their learning in the weeks they are gone.

Recently, though, my school created a new homework policy that, among other things, encourages us to avoid giving students work over extended school breaks. Our administration cited studies that raise questions about the benefits of hefty doses of homework.

I worried about how this new plan would affect my curriculum pacing, and about what my students might “lose.” But I realized that my concerns were really about my desires, not what was best for my students.

The new policy led me to re-evaluate my assignments and timing, and I ended up being able to make adjustments so my kids could complete necessary projects without working when they should be recharging. I’d worried about my students’ learning, but recent research challenges our long-held belief that students’ learning “slides” significantly over long breaks.

Taking the stress of homework out of my students’ holiday breaks is important. They deserve an opportunity to relax and rejuvenate as much as I do—particularly if they are overscheduled to begin with. Young or old, we all need rejuvenation time. In addition, more studies are demonstrating the benefits of down time for students. Having unstructured time recharges them, but also allows their brains to build connections that strengthen and improve their executive functioning.

We need to be mindful of other factors that complicate homework assignments over holiday breaks. We don’t always know what our students’ lives are like outside our classrooms. Do they struggle with access to the resources necessary to complete assignments? Do they have stressful home situations?

Here are a few ways we can send our students off on a positive note when they leave us for holiday breaks. I’m trying them myself this winter!

Provide activities that support students reconnecting with themselves, their loved ones, or their community.

While we want to avoid giving mandatory work to students, we can offer opportunities and ideas for learning-friendly activities they can do during their break. Maybe that’s an optional/extra credit project that asks students to interview a family or community member (though we should also provide time after break for those who couldn’t work over break). Or maybe we can offer students some ideas about how they could use their time to take care of themselves or their communities. We could provide reflection questions once they’re back from break, to help them find meaning in the experience. Encouraging students to use their time to volunteer or take care of themselves allows us to help our kids grow not just as students, but as people.

Offer opportunities to find a new passion, set goals, or reflect.

While some students may travel or connect with family, some of our kids may have a lot of free time over their break. We can encourage them to use the time to set goals for the year, dream big and draw or write their five-year plan (remind them this is for fun and plans will change!), or reflect on their year or life so far. We can also encourage students to discover something they’re passionate about, or use the time to pursue something they love.

Deepen your relationships with students and allow them to open up to you.

Sometimes, our kids are simply not given the space to dive deeply into something that lets them tell us who they are. Give students a project that allows them to explore their identity or have them write a story about their lives. This will not only provide some critical thinking, reading, or writing enrichment, but more importantly will provide valuable insight into our students’ lives and help us build deeper connections with our students. We can return the favor by completing the project ourselves or writing a story and sharing it with them.

After the break, see what stuck with students.

Instead of returning from break with the mindset of what was “lost,” give students a chance to share everything they remember from the last unit. Instead of assuming they all had a great time they want to share, welcome kids back with an opportunity to celebrate the experiences that stuck with them from their breaks. Help students generate a class-created study guide so they can review what they learned before the break. This gives them space to support one another and remind each other what they learned, as well as gives us an opportunity to praise students for what they’ve retained. It also provides important feedback for us on what stuck over the break and what we need to reteach.

Ultimately, our students look to us not just for academic growth, but to support their growth as human beings as well. Taking away homework stress over break may cause us to change our short-term plans, but providing them with opportunities and resources instead can have some long-term benefits that can change their self-perception and their lives more than a packet of homework ever could.

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The Tyranny of Homework: 20 Reasons to Stop Assigning Homework Over the Holidays

M any students agree that assigning homework over the holidays really is a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

Upon returning from winter break, you’ll probably have a handful of students saying the dog ate their homework or it got blown away in a winter storm. But you’ll probably be surprised to learn that some research suggests assigning too much homework can be a bad thing.   A 2009 article in the Los Angeles Times , suggests that some districts have cut back on the amount of homework in the effort to consider children’s social development. In fact, the San Ramon Valley district modified its homework policy and no homework is allowed over weekends and holiday vacations, except for reading.

The US   National Education Association   recommends no more than ten minutes (of homework) per grade level, per night.

Homework has fallen in and out of favor over the decades. California even established a law in 1901 limiting the amount of homework teachers could assign. Assigning homework is highly in favor now a days. With recent trends of information overload, packed activity schedules, and childhood obesity, it’s no wonder educators are reconsidering their stance on homework.

Learn more about how to progress in your teaching career with an online Certificate in Education Support today.

Here are 20 reasons why you shouldn’t assign homework over the holidays. Perhaps one of your students will print this list and encourage you to reconsider your ideas about homework.

• Students are learning all the time in the 21 st   century.   According to a   recent article   in MindShift traditional homework will become obsolete in the next decade. Thanks to computers, learning is occurring 24/7. With access to software programs, worldwide connections, and learning websites such as the Khan Academy, learning occurs all the time. According to Mindshift, “the next decade is going to see the traditional temporal boundaries between home and school disappear.” Try to see if you can bridge the gap between school and home by getting students interested in doing their own research over holiday break. Rather than assigning homework, create a true interest in learning. They will often pursue learning about topics they like on their own. After all, this is the way of the 21 st   century and information is everywhere.
• More homework doesn’t necessarily equate to higher achievement . Yes, too much homework can actually be a bad thing. A 1989 Duke University study that reviewed 120 studies found a weak link between achievement and homework at the elementary level and only a moderate benefit at the middle school level. In a similar recent review of 60 studies,   researchers at Duke U   found assigning homework was beneficial, but excessive amounts of homework was counterproductive. The research found homework was more beneficial for older students than younger ones. The study was completed by Harris Cooper, a leading homework research and author of “The Battle over Homework: Common Ground for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents”. Cooper suggests that teachers at the younger level may assign homework for improving study skills, rather than learning, explaining why many studies concluded less benefit for younger children. Many teachers do not receive specific training on homework. Cooper suggests that homework should be uncomplicated and short, involve families, and engage student interests.
• Countries that assign more homework don’t outperform those with less homework.   Around the world, countries that assign more homework don’t see to perform any better. A   Stanford study   found that in countries like Japan, Denmark, and the Czech Republic little homework was assigned and students outperformed students in counties with large amounts of homework such as Greece, Thailand, and Iran. American and British students seem to have more homework than most counties, and still only score in the international average. In fact, Japan has instituted no homework policies at younger levels to allow family time and personal interests. Finland, a national leader in international tests, limits high school homework to half hour per night. Of course, there are other factors not taken into account in the study, such as length of the school day. But in itself, it is interesting to see this issue from a world perspective.
• Instead of assigning homework, suggest they read for fun.   There are great holiday stories and books you can recommend to parents and students. If you approach the activity with a holiday spirit, many students   will be engaged . They may want to check out the stories on their own. You can start by reading the first chapter in class and leaving them intrigued. For instance, you can read the first chapter of   The   Gift of the Magi   and suggest students read it over winter break. With younger students, you might promise roles in a play for students who read over break.
• Don’t assign holiday busy work.   Most academics agree that busy work does little to increase learning. It is best to not assign packets of worksheets if they do nothing to add to student learning. You also don’t want to waste valuable time grading meaningless paperwork. Some studies show that much homework may actually decline achievement. Assigning excessive amounts of homework may be detrimental. In fact, a 2006 study by Yankelovick found that reading achievement declined when students were assigned too much homework. Actually, interesting reading such as   Harry Potter   produced higher reading achievement.
• Have students attend a local cultural event.   You can let parents know that instead of assigning homework, you are suggesting students attend a particular event that relates to your classroom. For instance, if you are reading Shakespeare, they might attend a related play or ballet.
• Family time is more important during the holidays . Assigning less homework makes it easier for families to have time together. Family studies at the University of Michigan, show that family time is extremely important to achievement and behavior. Studies on family meals, suggest that students who have dinner with their family have better academic scores and behavioral outcomes. Perhaps this is only a correlation, but family time is undeniably important to child development. Students spent most of their days at school while parents are at work. When all is said and done, remember what it was like being a kid. The things you remember most about the holidays aren’t the assignments you took home, but the time you spend with family and friends.
• For students who travel during the holidays, assigning homework may impede learning on their trip . The Holiday time is the one time of year that many families reconnect with distant family members or travel. I remember having to pack hoards of books over some holidays to Spain and it was not fun. I wanted to enjoy the time with family and experience the country fully. Traveling in itself is a learning activity. Let students experience their travels fully.
• Kids need time to be kids.   A recent article from Australia’s Happy Child website,   “What is the value of Homework: Research and Reality”   considers this issue and explains how children need unstructured play time. Homework can have a negative influence on early learning experiences. Suggest students use holiday time to do physical activity, such as ice-skating or sledding. Many kids don’t get enough exercise. Childhood obesity is a major problem in the United States. Suggesting students play outside or participate in a sport is a good way to get them to value physical activity. The holidays are a great time for kids to go sledding in the snow or play with friends outside. If no one has homework, classmates might exchange phone numbers to play together. You can suggest this to parents. If the teacher thinks physical activity is important, students will too.
• Some education experts recommend an end to all homework . Etta Kralovec and John Buell, authors of   The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning ,   controversially suggests that homework may be a form of intrusion on family life, and may increase the drop-out rate in high schools. The authors blame homework for increasing the achievement gap due to socio-economic differences in after-school obligations. Consider challenging your own views of the benefits of homework and try to create a level playing field when considering assignments.
• Send a letter to parents explaining why you are not assigning work.   You might want to take the Christmas holiday as a chance to engage parents to play a learning game or do some art with their kids. If families know there is an intentional purpose to not assigning work, they may take the chance to spend more one-on-one time with their child.
• You can make the holidays a time for an “open project” for extra credit.   Students might take this time to do something related to the curriculum that they would like to explore on their own terms. Before the holidays, you might talk about topics or provide books students for students to take home. Learning for fun and interest, might produce more meaningful engagement than assigning homework.
• Suggest they visit a museum instead.   With families at home, the holiday time is a great time for students to see an exhibit that interests them or do a fun activity at a nearby museum. Sometimes encouraging these field trips may be more beneficial than assigning homework. You might want to print coupons, a schedule, or a list of upcoming exhibits so that families have the information at their fingertips.
• Encourage students to volunteer during the holiday time.   The holidays are a great time for students to give back. Students might volunteer at a local soup kitchen or pantry. Volunteer organizations are often at their busiest during the holiday time. Plus, students learn a lot from the experience of doing community service. I remember visiting a group home during the holiday time in high school and helping kids wrap Christmas gifts for their families. This is a great alternative to assigning homework, especially for Generation Y who highly values civic involvement.
• Develop a class game.   You might have the class play a   learning game   the week before vacation and have them take it home to show their family. My fourth grade teacher had hop-scotch math. We often drew with chalk outside to replicate her game at home. Try to think of a holiday-themed game or one that the whole family can get involved in.
• Students might learn more from observing the real world.   Learning isn’t just about paper and pencil activities. Teachers should also inspire students to seek ways to learn from real-world experiences. They might cook with their parents and practice measuring. Or tag along with a parent who is putting up holiday lights or building a shed. Ask students to observe a job around the house or ask their parents about their job over holiday break. They might be enlightened to learn more about the real world and different jobs they might pursue in the future. Perhaps some students might be able to go to work with their parents instead of a formal assignment.
• Go on a hike.   Students learn a great deal from nature. Tell students to go outside on a walk and be ready to share their experience when they get back. Did they observe natural phenomena you talked about in science class or different types of rocks you discussed in geology? Or can you tie their walk into a discussion of poetry?
• Tell students to visit an amusement park.   If you are teaching physics or math, amusement parks give ample room to explain the laws of physics and mathematical probability. This outing would allow students to think about the real world implications of science. You may want to even plan a lesson beforehand that ties this idea in. On another level, it allows students to create a lasting memory with their own families.
• Kids need rest!   Everyone needs a mental breather and the holidays are the best time for students to play and take a break from school. Kids need a full ten hours of sleep and adequate rest. The vacation time is a great time for students to take a mental breather from school. With many family outings and vacations during the holiday time, they will have less time to complete homework. They will come back to school feeling re-energized.
• Many parents and students dislike holiday homework.   You want parents to buy-in to your classroom community and support your endeavors with students. Assigning homework over the holidays is usually unpopular with parents because it may the one time of year they have to give children their undivided attention. Instead, you might want to take a survey to see if parents agree with the idea. You can then send a letter with the survey results. Taking parents’ perspectives into account shows you value their opinions and feedback. Students prefer some free time too. Not surprisingly one student created a Facebook page, titled, “Why do teachers give us homework over the holiday.” If the students know you are giving them a break over the holidays they may work harder for you when they get back.

If you’re still not convinced, check out this   fact sheet   based on   The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It   by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish. If you still plan on assigning homework over the holidays, at least keep in mind some guidelines.

The US   National Education Association   recommends no more than ten minutes per grade level, per night. If you must assign homework make sure it is meaningful and doesn’t take away from time with families. And most of all, remember what it was like being a kid during the holiday time. Homework is generally not a part of those memories, nor should it be. Those days playing outside and spending time with family are lifelong memories just as important as school.

Childhood is over in the blink of an eye.

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Should teachers assign homework over school breaks?

Most students in school – whether public, private, or international –  can relate to the feeling of looking forward to a lovely break only to have a mountain of homework to complete.

The more diligent will complete it during the first few days so they can enjoy the holiday, but there are several who will wait til the last minute!

But should there really be homework during a school holiday? One teacher known as Sarah recently wrote on BoredTeachers how she believes that it is a mistake to assign homework over the break, even though she used to do it herself.

She wrote, “It’s taken a lot of experience and personal reflection, but after seventeen years of teaching high school students, I am firmly in the “not to assign” camp.”

She said that there was a time when she felt differently, especially when she couldn’t finish teaching a particular unit before a major break or felt like she wasn’t challenging her students enough, so she would assign some short papers or reading over the holidays.

“This was especially true when I personally wasn’t doing anything special over the break except staying at home. I guess I selfishly reasoned that if I was going to be spending part of my time off grading the work that I had already assigned, then they could be spending part of that time off doing homework for me.”

Are students spending the bulk of their school holidays finishing homework? Source: Shutterstock

But what Sarah realised is that she wasn’t the only teacher assigning homework, or who felt pressed to finish teaching what they’re supposed to before the break, which leads the homework to pile up for the kids.

“I was trying to do “all the things”, and assigning work over short breaks allowed me to fit more learning into each semester. Instead of focusing on increasing the quality of what I was assigning, I became more concerned about the quantity, convincing myself that the more I assigned, the better a teacher I became.”

Is homework just busy work?

When Sarah went on to become a Graduate Teaching Assistant at university while studying for her Master’s, she found herself on the other side of the desk and began to realise what was really expected of college students.

“All of my years of telling my students “in college you will need to be able to do this” felt like a lie. Yes, there were skills that I expected from my students that they did need to master to be successful in college.”

“However, skills were more important than me imparting all of the knowledge that I could and having them read everything that was humanly possible, in a single school year. In the end, cutting out a novel or short story was not going to break them, something I slowly realized as I made my return to the high school classroom.”

Both kids and teachers should be allowed to enjoy their breaks and use it as a time to relax and recharge. Source: Shutterstock

Becoming a mother also altered her views on children and the pressures they face in school. She wrote, “Parenthood changed the way I viewed my students. I no longer saw them as just students. They were sons and daughters with parents who were watching their babies grow into adulthood.”

Reality really hit home when her daughter started bringing home homework from kindergarten which seemed more like busy work rather than encouraging real learning.

“When she could have been playing or we could have been reading together for fun, she had to do homework for which I saw no academic value. More than before, I started to critically consider the homework that I assigned and reconsider the value and importance of each assignment.”

“These are the questions I have started to ask myself through every unit: Is this worth my students’ time? Is grading that assignment worth my time as well? What is the ultimate benefit of a given assignment and does the benefit outweigh the cost to both teacher and student?”

Sarah urged other teachers to realise that they are allowed to take well-deserved breaks, and in turn, allow students to enjoy those same, well-deserved breaks.

“We have to ask ourselves how much of a difference that extra work is going to make in the end. I know that some of my fellow educators, especially those teaching high stakes courses in a single semester, will struggle to cut back, and that is understandable.”

“But maybe the rest of us can take a moment to invite our students to enjoy the quiet, teaching them to practice the self-care that so many of us struggle with so that they can return to us after a break renewed and refreshed with hearts and minds open for learning.”

Homework can be good, but not too much 

This week’s homework for parents is making an Easter bonnet and a garden shoe box. What homework has your school set you? pic.twitter.com/Qw1NJcuvGj — Becky Allen (@profbeckyallen) April 1, 2019

However, in a study done by Duke University, researchers found that homework does actually have a positive effect on student achievement, especially for younger children.

Harris Cooper, a professor of psychology and director of Duke’s Program in Education, said, “With only rare exception, the relationship between the amount of homework students do and their achievement outcomes was found to be positive and statistically significant.”

But it is noteworthy to mention that despite the findings, the analysis also showed that too much homework can be counter-productive.

He said, “Even for high school students, overloading them with homework is not associated with higher grades.”

“Kids burn out. The bottom line really is all kids should be doing homework, but the amount and type should vary according to their developmental level and home circumstances.

“Homework for young students should be short, lead to success without much struggle, occasionally involve parents and, when possible, use out-of-school activities that kids enjoy, such as their sports teams or high-interest reading.”

Therefore, assigning homework over breaks is not necessarily a bad thing. But teachers should re-evaluate if students are really learning through them, or they would be better off enjoying a rejuvenating holiday with some light reading or a fun project instead of hours spent poring over difficult homework.

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Does homework over the holidays help or harm? | Opinion

As parents, we too have thought “Oh no!” when our kids brought work home to complete over the break. For students, it can mean tears, sour attitudes and plain old avoidance. For parents, it can provoke unwanted battles with their children, or worse – dreaded “parent homework.”

These negative reactions may be appropriate. There are a limited number of research studies to actually support a strong causal conclusion about the positive effects of homework on achievement.

Positive relationships between homework and achievement tend to be smaller in elementary than in secondary school. In addition, more time on homework has been reported in schools serving higher income families, which suggests that there is a chicken and egg problem — which comes first? Students with higher achievement may spend more time on homework, as might students from families with more time and resources to support their students’ homework completion.

All in all, we are not convinced that homework packets, especially over the holiday break, are beneficial to anyone, let alone stressed out parents and over-scheduled children.

However, there is some evidence to suggest what productive out of school time might look like. Teachers who want to assign homework over extended breaks should consider individual differences of children and families and how assignments could support positive family interactions.

Although it remains unclear whether homework over school breaks will support school achievement, there is some evidence that engaging students academically outside of school time may be beneficial. For example, researchers and teachers alike have observed “summer learning loss,” students returning to school from summer vacation seemingly having lost all that they learned the previous school year.

Although many students experience some slide in reading and math performance during the summer, it appears to be more apparent among vulnerable students who are growing up in low-income households and economically distressed communities. In fact, some argue that summer learning loss is an under-noticed culprit in closing the achievement gap. That is, most children, including struggling students, demonstrate growth in reading and writing skills during the school year.

However, their experiences during the summer can vary widely, with some children (typically more affluent students) having enriching experiences that promote and sustain learning while others do not (typically less affluent students). While the results from empirical research on this topic are mixed, positive findings have led to a proliferation of summer learning programs with proponents arguing for increased academic time out of school to ensure greater achievement in school.

So, should parents schedule party time or homework time during the holidays? The answer: it depends. Much like summer learning programs, quality matters.

Based on important findings of successful summer learning programs, to help ensure the effectiveness of homework and other learning activities, no matter what time of year they take place, parents should balance academic and recreational activities, provide high-quality interactions with children and leverage resources available with community partners to ensure success.

Nicole Patton Terry is the Olive & Manuel Bordas Professor of Education in the School of Teacher Education and associate director of the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University. Alysia D. Roehrig is an associate professor and graduate program coordinator of educational psychology at FSU.

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The Case For And Against Holiday Homework

The holidays: A time for eating, travel, fun with family, relaxation and, potentially, homework.

It’s a debate that’s been going on for years: Does study time have any place during school vacations?

The Case For Homework Over The Holidays

The pro-homework contingent has done their research (unsurprisingly). Two meta-analyses by Cooper et al (Cooper, 1989a; Cooper, Robinson, & Patall, 2006) examined the causal relationship between homework and student achievement.

They concluded that the amount of homework a student completes coincides directly with their success rates. Their research further found that students that were assigned homework scored 23 percentile points higher on tests than learners in a class where homework wasn’t assigned.

It turns out learning is a lot like exercise – it’s good to rest, but not to live on the couch for a month. The less you use the skills you have and the learning you’ve gained, the worse shape it’s going to be in when students come back to class.

The Case Against Homework Over The Holidays

So what’s the other side saying?

Let’s start with family time. It’d be crazy to argue that family time isn’t important, and the holidays provide a special opportunity for everyone to get together without the usual distractions. In an odd twist, studies show that uninterrupted family time can also have learning benefits.

Family studies at the University of Michigan found that family time correlates closely to achievement and behaviour. Studies on family meals suggest that students who have dinner with their family have better academic scores and behavioural outcomes.

There’s another thing to consider: learning can happen without homework. With access to learning software and educational programs and websites, our schools and classes no longer have to be the beginning and end of learning for students.

The Verdict

Find a good balance.

Create small, relevant and purposeful assignments as homework over the holidays. Ultimately, you want to keep your students’ minds fit while they’re on break – but remember this is your break too!

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What do teachers do in the school holidays? They work, plan, and rest

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Many people believe teaching is an easy job involving short days and long holidays. Anyone working in the profession, however, will tell you this is not the truth.

They will tell you teaching is a rewarding job, but that teachers are stressed and overworked . This has been made worse by a severe teacher shortage in recent years.

In fact, teaching is almost never a 9am to 3pm job ; a lot of “invisible” work happens before school drop-off and after pick-up time. And the school holidays, while allowing some much-needed rest for teachers, can also be a busy time for them, as they prepare for the term and year ahead.

Read more: A Senate inquiry is calling for a new 'behaviour curriculum' to try and tackle classroom disruptions

More than just teaching students

Classrooms generally open around 8:30am and most teachers are at school well before this time to prepare for the day. They don’t get much of a rest throughout the school day – even their lunch “break” is often spent supervising children.

The job of a teacher involves much more than just teaching students.

After the school day, teachers can stay later to assist students who require extra help, and there are usually meetings several afternoons a week.

Additional roles are also expected at different times throughout the year. These include things like:

coaching school sports teams

running and attending information nights

working on school camps

attending school fairs and discos

conducting parent-teacher interviews

organising and producing school concerts.

After that, many teachers take student work home with them to mark at night and on weekends , especially around report card season.

These non-teaching roles and responsibilities can all add up to teachers doing over 15 hours of unpaid overtime each week, on top of the 37-40 hours of work their positions require.

Consequently, teachers are often exhausted when the end of a term arrives.

Work over the holidays

While most teachers have students in their classes for around 40 weeks a year, they are not just on holiday the rest of the time. Many teachers are busy beyond business hours and work during the holidays to meet the needs of children, parents, colleagues, leaders and system requirements.

Yes, teachers use this non-teaching time to rest and refresh themselves, but they also spend time doing all the tasks they don’t have time to do during the busy school terms.

This can include:

planning and preparing for the term ahead

designing curriculum-aligned learning tasks at the appropriate level for 25-30 different children and developing the required resources (such as activity cards and assignments)

marking and providing feedback on student work

administrative tasks such as setting up and decorating classrooms , paperwork and writing student support referrals

purchasing items for the classroom

uploading data to various parent communication and reporting platforms

training and various professional development units

conducting extra-curricular activities such as summer school, holiday sports camps, and school trips.

These things are not easily done while you are also teaching and managing the behaviour of 25-30 students, so many get pushed to the holidays.

Enjoying things like being able to go to the bathroom whenever they want is also a welcome change!

Resting, recovering and catching up on life

And similar to people in other professions, teachers use their holidays to rest, recover and decompress. They catch up on things like sleep and Netflix and gardening and dentist appointments, and maybe go on a holiday with their family.

It should be acknowledged teachers generally don’t get a choice when they take their leave. They often cannot afford to travel with their families as their holidays are in the most expensive and most crowded times of year.

So while teachers may appear to get more holidays than most other professions, the reality is they are not actually on holiday for all of this time.

It is more a mix of flexible work from home, school-based meetings and preparation for the following teaching term, and some holiday downtime to unwind in between tasks.

Research shows many people deeply appreciate teachers’ dedication to our school communities.

However, there is work to be done to change widespread and incorrect perceptions about their work hours or holidays, which misrepresents and devalues the work they do.

Read more: 'Thank you for making me feel smart': will a new campaign to raise the status of teaching work?

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What do teachers do in the school holidays? They work, plan, and rest

5 JANUARY 2024

School holidays can be just as busy for teachers as during the school terms. University academics tells of the ‘invisible’ work teachers do during holidays to prepare for the year ahead.

By Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) in the Charles Sturt Faculty of Arts and Education Brendon Hyndman and Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science Program Director at the University of Tasmania Vaughan Cruickshank.

Many people believe teaching is an easy job involving short days and long holidays. Anyone working in the profession, however, will tell you this is not the truth.

They will tell you teaching is a rewarding job, but that teachers are  stressed  and  overworked . This has been made worse by a severe teacher shortage in recent years.

In fact, teaching is  almost never a 9am to 3pm job ; a lot of “invisible” work happens before school drop-off and after pick-up time. And the school holidays, while allowing some much-needed rest for teachers, can also be a busy time for them, as they prepare for the term and year ahead.

More than just teaching students

Classrooms generally open around 8:30am and most teachers are at school well  before this time  to prepare for the day. They don’t get much of a rest throughout the school day – even their lunch “break” is often spent supervising children.

The job of a teacher involves much more than just teaching students.

After the school day, teachers can stay later to assist students who require extra help, and there are usually meetings several afternoons a week.

Additional roles  are also expected at different times throughout the year. These include things like:

• coaching school sports teams
• running and attending information nights
• working on school camps
• attending school fairs and discos
• conducting parent-teacher interviews
• organising and producing school concerts.

After that, many teachers take student work home with them to  mark at night and on weekends , especially around report card season.

These non-teaching roles and responsibilities can all add up to teachers doing over 15 hours of  unpaid overtime  each week, on top of the 37-40 hours of work their positions require.

Consequently, teachers are often  exhausted  when the end of a term arrives.

Work over the holidays

While most teachers have students in their classes for around 40 weeks a year, they are not just on holiday the rest of the time. Many teachers are busy beyond business hours and work during the holidays to meet the needs of children, parents, colleagues, leaders and system requirements.

Yes, teachers use this non-teaching time to rest and refresh themselves, but they also spend time doing all the tasks they don’t have time to do during the busy school terms.

This can include:

• planning and preparing  for the term ahead
• designing curriculum-aligned learning tasks at the appropriate level for 25-30 different children and developing the required resources (such as activity cards and assignments)
• marking  and providing feedback on student work
• administrative tasks such as  setting up and decorating classrooms ,  paperwork  and writing student support referrals
• purchasing items  for the classroom
• uploading data to various parent communication and reporting  platforms
• training and various  professional development  units
• conducting  extra-curricular activities  such as summer school, holiday sports camps, and school trips.

These things are not easily done while you are also teaching and managing the behaviour of 25-30 students, so many get pushed to the holidays.

Enjoying things like being able to go to the bathroom whenever they want is also a welcome change!

Resting, recovering and catching up on life

And similar to people in other professions, teachers use their holidays to rest, recover and decompress. They catch up on things like sleep and Netflix and gardening and dentist appointments, and maybe go on a holiday with their family.

It should be acknowledged teachers generally  don’t get a choice  when they take their leave. They often cannot afford to travel with their families as their holidays are in the most expensive and most crowded times of year.

So while teachers may appear to get more holidays than most other professions, the reality is they are not actually on holiday for all of this time.

It is more a mix of flexible work from home, school-based meetings and preparation for the following teaching term, and some holiday downtime to unwind in between tasks.

Research shows many people  deeply appreciate  teachers’ dedication to our school communities.

However, there is work to be done to change widespread and incorrect perceptions about their work hours or holidays, which misrepresents and devalues the work they do.

This article first appeared on The Conversation .

Media contact:

Nicole Barlow , 0429217029

Media Note:

For more information, contact Nicole Barlow at Charles Sturt Media on 0429 217 026 or [email protected]

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Should Teachers Be Allowed to Assign Holiday Homework?

Mikaeel Zohair , Staff Writer

February 27, 2021

Most students look forward to hard-earned breaks, only to be greeted with mountains of homework to do. And let’s face it — no kid likes to do homework over break. The thought of eventually having to get up and do some schoolwork is no pleasant feeling. Holiday breaks are meant to be stress-free times where we can let our minds wander and watch TV all day. Breaks don’t exist as a time for teachers to assign extra work and get an early start on the next unit — yet some still use it as such.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and teachers have had to adapt their teaching methods to accommodate the new era of online learning that we live in. Most teachers have tried to ease up on the speed at which they teach students information, but that means more homework over breaks. There has also been an increase in the number of off-days due to weather issues, resulting in an increase in the amount of work given to students over breaks.

Nonetheless, students shouldn’t have to worry about the science report due next week while they’re on break. Not only can spending time on extra homework affect students’ social and emotional wellbeing, it can also quite possibly lower students’ academic achievements. A 2006 study by social scientist Daniel Yankelovich found that achievement in reading declined in students as the amount of homework assigned increased.

Homework is unnecessary and wastes valuable time in students’ lives. The United States National Education Association recommends no more than ten minutes of homework a night, however, many students find themselves spending hours per night on homework. If students aren’t interested in doing homework during school weeks, then they won’t learn much by doing homework over breaks.

Assigning work over breaks sends students the message that leisure time with family and friends is incomparable to being “productive” and going the extra mile for school. In fact, people find that breaks allow us to detach from work and provides recovery from the stress of school. But not only do students benefit from vacations without school-related interruptions; teachers benefit from not having to plan lessons and grade homework.

Ultimately, teachers should not be allowed to assign homework over holiday breaks. There is substantial evidence pointing to the fact that homework doesn’t contribute heavily to students’ understanding of topics. It is essential for students and teachers to relieve themselves of the stress of schoolwork while enjoying their vacation.

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Please Don’t Assign Homework Over Winter Break

It sends the wrong message, period.

“Seven more school days til break!” Teachers and students alike have been counting down the minutes until holiday break. We are all ready for a rest from the stress and daily 5:30 am wake-up calls. Students are all looking forward to sleeping in, seeing friends, watching TikTok, and generally resting from the pressures of one thing: homework. Yes. Homework. Schools across the country still give homework over winter break, but here’s my take: Students need a complete break from all school work, and teachers do as well. Why?

Breaks increase productivity and creativity

Teachers need to take a break over the holidays. This has been one of the most stressful years, and we are all suffering from burnout or considering leaving the profession . A true break will hopefully replenish you while also leading to more creative ideas. Once you detach from the daily grind, you can spend time finding inspiration from the world again: through things you read and see for fun, cultural traditions and events, and conversations with family and friends. In addition, b reaks increase productivity in the long run for students and teachers.

It creates space for pleasure reading

Ask high school students when they last read a book for fun, and many will name something they read in junior high or even late elementary school. This isn’t necessarily because the student doesn’t like reading or prefers to play video games. Often it’s because books have become another thing to study in English class and not something to pursue on their own time. English teachers around the country have a great opportunity to “assign” reading for pleasure, without the obligation to take notes, annotate, track pages, and do other school-like tasks. When they return, converse with any students who  read over break, and you may be surprised by the authentic conversations that came with the opportunity to read for fun.

The final product isn’t worth it

Homework, in general, has come under fire in the past few years as not only unnecessary, but possibly harmful. Harris Cooper writes in The Battle over Homework : “Too much homework may diminish its effectiveness or even become counterproductive.” If this is the norm during the school year, we can infer that homework over winter break is going to be even less productive than normal, as students and their families are pursuing rest, relationship-building activities, and preparing for the holidays. Let’s think ahead a few weeks to what type of essay, worksheet, or project quality you will receive in those early weeks of January.

Start fresh for renewed motivation

Some schools use the holiday break as a natural space between the two semesters, as finals have just ended for many high schools and quarter three begins in January. Students are well aware that this break between quarters means you are not in the middle of a teaching unit, so assigned work can come off as extra or unnecessary busywork. They are called finals, after all, and students need a clean break between the successes or failures of the first semester and the beginning of the second. Work assigned between the two may be given without much context (are you really going to be able to present a fresh unit on their way out for break to contextualize homework you are giving?).

It sends the wrong message about work-life balance

Assigning work over break tells students and families that you don’t value their time together, learning outside of the classroom, or cultural traditions. Most teachers don’t feel that way, so don’t let your potential zeal to make it through the curriculum map create that perception. Model balance yourself by talking to your students about your plans over break and asking about theirs. Discussing the power of sleep, exercise, breaks, and quality time with loved ones both in this season and throughout the year might be the most important thing you teach them.

We’d love to hear—will you assign homework over winter break? Why or why not? Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, why we shouldn’t assign work on snow days, either..

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What’s the Purpose of Homework?

• Homework teaches students responsibility.
• Homework gives students an opportunity to practice and refine their skills.
• We give homework because our parents demand it.
• Our community equates homework with rigor.
• Homework is a rite of passage.
• design quality homework tasks;
• differentiate homework tasks;
• move from grading to checking;
• decriminalize the grading of homework;
• use completion strategies; and
• establish homework support programs.
• Always ask, “What learning will result from this homework assignment?” The goal of your instruction should be to design homework that results in meaningful learning.
• Assign homework to help students deepen their understanding of content, practice skills in order to become faster or more proficient, or learn new content on a surface level.
• Check that students are able to perform required skills and tasks independently before asking them to complete homework assignments.
• When students return home, is there a safe and quite place for them to do their homework? I have talked to teachers who tell me they know for certain the home environments of their students are chaotic at best. Is it likely a student will be able to complete homework in such an environment? Is it possible for students to go to an after school program, possibly at the YMCA or a Boys and Girls Club. Assigning homework to students when you know the likelihood of them being able to complete the assignment through little fault of their own doesn’t seem fair to the learner.
• Consider parents and guardians to be your allies when it comes to homework. Understand their constraints, and, when home circumstances present challenges, consider alternative approaches to support students as they complete homework assignments (e.g., before-or after-school programs, additional parent outreach).

Howard Pitler is a dynamic facilitator, speaker, and instructional coach with a proven record of success spanning four decades. With an extensive background in professional development, he works with schools and districts internationally and is a regular speaker at national, state, and district conferences and workshops.

Pitler is currently Associate Professor at Emporia State University in Kansas. Prior to that, he served for 19 years as an elementary and middle school principal in an urban setting. During his tenure, his elementary school was selected as an Apple Distinguished Program and named "One of the Top 100 Schools in America" by Redbook Magazine. His middle school was selected as "One of the Top 100 Wired Schools in America" by PC Magazine. He also served for 12 years as a senior director and chief program officer for McREL International, and he is currently serving on the Board of Colorado ASCD. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Apple Teacher, National Distinguished Principal, and Smithsonian Laureate.

He is a published book author and has written numerous magazine articles for  Educational Leadership ® magazine,  EdCircuit , and  Connected Educator , among others.

ASCD is dedicated to professional growth and well-being.

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Are You Down With or Done With Homework?

• Posted January 17, 2012
• By Lory Hough

The debate over how much schoolwork students should be doing at home has flared again, with one side saying it's too much, the other side saying in our competitive world, it's just not enough.

It was a move that doesn't happen very often in American public schools: The principal got rid of homework.

This past September, Stephanie Brant, principal of Gaithersburg Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Md., decided that instead of teachers sending kids home with math worksheets and spelling flash cards, students would instead go home and read. Every day for 30 minutes, more if they had time or the inclination, with parents or on their own.

"I knew this would be a big shift for my community," she says. But she also strongly believed it was a necessary one. Twenty-first-century learners, especially those in elementary school, need to think critically and understand their own learning — not spend night after night doing rote homework drills.

Brant's move may not be common, but she isn't alone in her questioning. The value of doing schoolwork at home has gone in and out of fashion in the United States among educators, policymakers, the media, and, more recently, parents. As far back as the late 1800s, with the rise of the Progressive Era, doctors such as Joseph Mayer Rice began pushing for a limit on what he called "mechanical homework," saying it caused childhood nervous conditions and eyestrain. Around that time, the then-influential Ladies Home Journal began publishing a series of anti-homework articles, stating that five hours of brain work a day was "the most we should ask of our children," and that homework was an intrusion on family life. In response, states like California passed laws abolishing homework for students under a certain age.

But, as is often the case with education, the tide eventually turned. After the Russians launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, a space race emerged, and, writes Brian Gill in the journal Theory Into Practice, "The homework problem was reconceived as part of a national crisis; the U.S. was losing the Cold War because Russian children were smarter." Many earlier laws limiting homework were abolished, and the longterm trend toward less homework came to an end.

The debate re-emerged a decade later when parents of the late '60s and '70s argued that children should be free to play and explore — similar anti-homework wellness arguments echoed nearly a century earlier. By the early-1980s, however, the pendulum swung again with the publication of A Nation at Risk , which blamed poor education for a "rising tide of mediocrity." Students needed to work harder, the report said, and one way to do this was more homework.

For the most part, this pro-homework sentiment is still going strong today, in part because of mandatory testing and continued economic concerns about the nation's competitiveness. Many believe that today's students are falling behind their peers in places like Korea and Finland and are paying more attention to Angry Birds than to ancient Babylonia.

But there are also a growing number of Stephanie Brants out there, educators and parents who believe that students are stressed and missing out on valuable family time. Students, they say, particularly younger students who have seen a rise in the amount of take-home work and already put in a six- to nine-hour "work" day, need less, not more homework.

Who is right? Are students not working hard enough or is homework not working for them? Here's where the story gets a little tricky: It depends on whom you ask and what research you're looking at. As Cathy Vatterott, the author of Rethinking Homework , points out, "Homework has generated enough research so that a study can be found to support almost any position, as long as conflicting studies are ignored." Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth and a strong believer in eliminating all homework, writes that, "The fact that there isn't anything close to unanimity among experts belies the widespread assumption that homework helps." At best, he says, homework shows only an association, not a causal relationship, with academic achievement. In other words, it's hard to tease out how homework is really affecting test scores and grades. Did one teacher give better homework than another? Was one teacher more effective in the classroom? Do certain students test better or just try harder?

"It is difficult to separate where the effect of classroom teaching ends," Vatterott writes, "and the effect of homework begins."

Putting research aside, however, much of the current debate over homework is focused less on how homework affects academic achievement and more on time. Parents in particular have been saying that the amount of time children spend in school, especially with afterschool programs, combined with the amount of homework given — as early as kindergarten — is leaving students with little time to run around, eat dinner with their families, or even get enough sleep.

Certainly, for some parents, homework is a way to stay connected to their children's learning. But for others, homework creates a tug-of-war between parents and children, says Liz Goodenough, M.A.T.'71, creator of a documentary called Where Do the Children Play?

"Ideally homework should be about taking something home, spending a few curious and interesting moments in which children might engage with parents, and then getting that project back to school — an organizational triumph," she says. "A nag-free activity could engage family time: Ask a parent about his or her own childhood. Interview siblings."

Instead, as the authors of The Case Against Homework write, "Homework overload is turning many of us into the types of parents we never wanted to be: nags, bribers, and taskmasters."

Leslie Butchko saw it happen a few years ago when her son started sixth grade in the Santa Monica-Malibu (Calif.) United School District. She remembers him getting two to four hours of homework a night, plus weekend and vacation projects. He was overwhelmed and struggled to finish assignments, especially on nights when he also had an extracurricular activity.

"Ultimately, we felt compelled to have Bobby quit karate — he's a black belt — to allow more time for homework," she says. And then, with all of their attention focused on Bobby's homework, she and her husband started sending their youngest to his room so that Bobby could focus. "One day, my younger son gave us 15-minute coupons as a present for us to use to send him to play in the back room. … It was then that we realized there had to be something wrong with the amount of homework we were facing."

Butchko joined forces with another mother who was having similar struggles and ultimately helped get the homework policy in her district changed, limiting homework on weekends and holidays, setting time guidelines for daily homework, and broadening the definition of homework to include projects and studying for tests. As she told the school board at one meeting when the policy was first being discussed, "In closing, I just want to say that I had more free time at Harvard Law School than my son has in middle school, and that is not in the best interests of our children."

One barrier that Butchko had to overcome initially was convincing many teachers and parents that more homework doesn't necessarily equal rigor.

"Most of the parents that were against the homework policy felt that students need a large quantity of homework to prepare them for the rigorous AP classes in high school and to get them into Harvard," she says.

Stephanie Conklin, Ed.M.'06, sees this at Another Course to College, the Boston pilot school where she teaches math. "When a student is not completing [his or her] homework, parents usually are frustrated by this and agree with me that homework is an important part of their child's learning," she says.

As Timothy Jarman, Ed.M.'10, a ninth-grade English teacher at Eugene Ashley High School in Wilmington, N.C., says, "Parents think it is strange when their children are not assigned a substantial amount of homework."

That's because, writes Vatterott, in her chapter, "The Cult(ure) of Homework," the concept of homework "has become so engrained in U.S. culture that the word homework is part of the common vernacular."

These days, nightly homework is a given in American schools, writes Kohn.

"Homework isn't limited to those occasions when it seems appropriate and important. Most teachers and administrators aren't saying, 'It may be useful to do this particular project at home,'" he writes. "Rather, the point of departure seems to be, 'We've decided ahead of time that children will have to do something every night (or several times a week). … This commitment to the idea of homework in the abstract is accepted by the overwhelming majority of schools — public and private, elementary and secondary."

Brant had to confront this when she cut homework at Gaithersburg Elementary.

"A lot of my parents have this idea that homework is part of life. This is what I had to do when I was young," she says, and so, too, will our kids. "So I had to shift their thinking." She did this slowly, first by asking her teachers last year to really think about what they were sending home. And this year, in addition to forming a parent advisory group around the issue, she also holds events to answer questions.

Still, not everyone is convinced that homework as a given is a bad thing. "Any pursuit of excellence, be it in sports, the arts, or academics, requires hard work. That our culture finds it okay for kids to spend hours a day in a sport but not equal time on academics is part of the problem," wrote one pro-homework parent on the blog for the documentary Race to Nowhere , which looks at the stress American students are under. "Homework has always been an issue for parents and children. It is now and it was 20 years ago. I think when people decide to have children that it is their responsibility to educate them," wrote another.

And part of educating them, some believe, is helping them develop skills they will eventually need in adulthood. "Homework can help students develop study skills that will be of value even after they leave school," reads a publication on the U.S. Department of Education website called Homework Tips for Parents. "It can teach them that learning takes place anywhere, not just in the classroom. … It can foster positive character traits such as independence and responsibility. Homework can teach children how to manage time."

Annie Brown, Ed.M.'01, feels this is particularly critical at less affluent schools like the ones she has worked at in Boston, Cambridge, Mass., and Los Angeles as a literacy coach.

"It feels important that my students do homework because they will ultimately be competing for college placement and jobs with students who have done homework and have developed a work ethic," she says. "Also it will get them ready for independently taking responsibility for their learning, which will need to happen for them to go to college."

The problem with this thinking, writes Vatterott, is that homework becomes a way to practice being a worker.

"Which begs the question," she writes. "Is our job as educators to produce learners or workers?"

Slate magazine editor Emily Bazelon, in a piece about homework, says this makes no sense for younger kids.

"Why should we think that practicing homework in first grade will make you better at doing it in middle school?" she writes. "Doesn't the opposite seem equally plausible: that it's counterproductive to ask children to sit down and work at night before they're developmentally ready because you'll just make them tired and cross?"

Kohn writes in the American School Board Journal that this "premature exposure" to practices like homework (and sit-and-listen lessons and tests) "are clearly a bad match for younger children and of questionable value at any age." He calls it BGUTI: Better Get Used to It. "The logic here is that we have to prepare you for the bad things that are going to be done to you later … by doing them to you now."

According to a recent University of Michigan study, daily homework for six- to eight-year-olds increased on average from about 8 minutes in 1981 to 22 minutes in 2003. A review of research by Duke University Professor Harris Cooper found that for elementary school students, "the average correlation between time spent on homework and achievement … hovered around zero."

So should homework be eliminated? Of course not, say many Ed School graduates who are teaching. Not only would students not have time for essays and long projects, but also teachers would not be able to get all students to grade level or to cover critical material, says Brett Pangburn, Ed.M.'06, a sixth-grade English teacher at Excel Academy Charter School in Boston. Still, he says, homework has to be relevant.

"Kids need to practice the skills being taught in class, especially where, like the kids I teach at Excel, they are behind and need to catch up," he says. "Our results at Excel have demonstrated that kids can catch up and view themselves as in control of their academic futures, but this requires hard work, and homework is a part of it."

Ed School Professor Howard Gardner basically agrees.

"America and Americans lurch between too little homework in many of our schools to an excess of homework in our most competitive environments — Li'l Abner vs. Tiger Mother," he says. "Neither approach makes sense. Homework should build on what happens in class, consolidating skills and helping students to answer new questions."

So how can schools come to a happy medium, a way that allows teachers to cover everything they need while not overwhelming students? Conklin says she often gives online math assignments that act as labs and students have two or three days to complete them, including some in-class time. Students at Pangburn's school have a 50-minute silent period during regular school hours where homework can be started, and where teachers pull individual or small groups of students aside for tutoring, often on that night's homework. Afterschool homework clubs can help.

Some schools and districts have adapted time limits rather than nix homework completely, with the 10-minute per grade rule being the standard — 10 minutes a night for first-graders, 30 minutes for third-graders, and so on. (This remedy, however, is often met with mixed results since not all students work at the same pace.) Other schools offer an extended day that allows teachers to cover more material in school, in turn requiring fewer take-home assignments. And for others, like Stephanie Brant's elementary school in Maryland, more reading with a few targeted project assignments has been the answer.

"The routine of reading is so much more important than the routine of homework," she says. "Let's have kids reflect. You can still have the routine and you can still have your workspace, but now it's for reading. I often say to parents, if we can put a man on the moon, we can put a man or woman on Mars and that person is now a second-grader. We don't know what skills that person will need. At the end of the day, we have to feel confident that we're giving them something they can use on Mars."

Read a January 2014 update.

Homework Policy Still Going Strong

Ed. Magazine

The magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Should Students Be Required to Do Homework over the Holidays

Home » Family » Education » Should Students Be Required to Do Homework over the Holidays

Gone are the days when kids could enjoy holiday breaks homework-free. Sadly, the trend seems to be that students are getting assignments that they must complete during their time away from school. Whether it’s a complicated science project, or a reading log proving they’ve put in the required hours with their noses buried in a book, children are now often burdened with having school work on their shoulders, when they should otherwise have a respite from their school duties.

Not only does homework over the holidays hang over the heads of students’, but it’s also a hardship for the parents who have to ensure their child completes the tasks the teachers have given them. So, is it fair for teachers to give out assignments over the holidays?

As a parent of three school-age children, I become somewhat disappointed when informed that one or more of my kids is required to work on a school project during a break. I simply can’t comprehend why their teachers refuse to allow them to relax and take a step back from all the work their required to complete on a daily basis during the school year. Of course, I know that teachers have good intentions , but I’d love for them to cut the kids some slack when they’ll be out of school for an extended period of time.

When I was kid, sometimes schoolwork was optional over the breaks, as extra credit or simply for extra enrichment. I remember electing to complete the public library reading challenge every summer. We would log the books we read and hopefully win a prize at the end. Of course, plenty of greedy and dishonest kids would simply write down unread book titles and their respective authors unchecked, as the entire thing was based on the honor system. I always truly read over summer, but never won a coveted library reading challenge prize.

Speaking of extra credit, one teacher I consulted didn’t believe in it and stated that it was an out for kids who didn’t feel like doing the “real work” that was outlined in the curriculum. He revealed that some eager students would actually request over-the-holiday homework in an effort to impress him and attempt to win brownie points, and he would actually refuse these students’ request for extra work!

I guess there’s might be a bright side to homework over the holidays. I know my kids certainly get bored after being home for several days. Threatening them with having the complete their assigned school work would certainly spare my ears from the assault of unwanted complaints. My kids already know that if they tell me they’re bored, then I have a long list of chores I can consult for a way to keep them occupied. Adding homework to that list might help them to keep their complaining to themselves.

Another positive aspect of doing at-home schoolwork would be that it would keep kids from staring at screens all day. Laptops, tablets, video games, movies, TV shows, phones, and other screens all conspire to occupy all the hours of a child’s day. Forcing your kids to turn off the devices and grab a pencil to work out a few math problems can only be for their own good.

Of course, if your child is struggling in school, not only would vacation homework be beneficial, but perhaps hiring a tutor might also be necessary. In fact, vacations and holidays are the perfect time to play “catch up” for a student who’s lagging behind their peers. Upon reviewing a poor report card, engage your child’s teacher for suggestions of supplemental work your child can be working on during off-school hours.

Even if your children don’t get official homework, spending time with them over the holidays or vacations is the perfect time to teach them life lessons. Not only are they rested, relaxed, and receptive to soaking up your knowledge, but you can make things fun and teach them something at the same time. Use baking to teach measuring and fractions, and get cookies as a result! Break out your dusty sewing machine and instruct your child in the art of quilt-making. Take a class together to learn how to knit, or acquire the skill of origami. You could even have your children journal about each new experience to show their teacher and possibly still earn some extra credit simply for going the extra mile while at home. You will always be your child’s first and best teacher! Maybe these teachers are onto something after all.

In the end, if you find the idea of over-vacation schoolwork to be troubling, simply contact your child’s teacher to let him or her know. Most teachers are reasonable and will explain their thinking behind assigning the extra work. Perhaps their curriculum is full, and the only way they see to complete it before the year’s end is to give the additional homework. Or, maybe their feel their class’s test scores as a whole are below national, state, or county standards and find that these supplemental tasks will give their students an academic boost. Maybe, they simply think it will benefit the parents to keep the children busy when they may otherwise become bored.

It’s important not to display distaste for over-break schoolwork in front of your children. Take it up privately with your child’s teacher if you think it’s an issue. Your child is watching you and will pick up on your negativity regarding school and possibly even towards his or her teacher. Make it a point to never associate school, teachers, or homework with bad feelings, or your child may possibly begin to hate school. Holiday homework may not be ideal in your mind, but in the end, it will likely benefit your child.

Well, maybe the “unschoolers” have it all figured out after all. Kids can discover so much from the environment around them and don’t need paperwork to learn everything in life. Why not let kids be kids and allow them to explore the world without having to document everything? Teachers’ hearts are in the right place, but perhaps they should reconsider their policies on homework…especially in regard to holiday breaks.

Lauren MJ Connelly

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What do teachers do in the school holidays? They work, plan, and rest

by Vaughan Cruickshank and Brendon Hyndman, The Conversation

Many people believe teaching is an easy job involving short days and long holidays. Anyone working in the profession, however, will tell you this is not the truth.

They will tell you teaching is a rewarding job, but that teachers are stressed and overworked . This has been made worse by a severe teacher shortage in recent years.

In fact, teaching is almost never a 9am to 3pm job ; a lot of "invisible" work happens before school drop-off and after pick-up time. And the school holidays , while allowing some much-needed rest for teachers, can also be a busy time for them, as they prepare for the term and year ahead.

More than just teaching students

Classrooms generally open around 8:30am and most teachers are at school well before this time to prepare for the day. They don't get much of a rest throughout the school day—even their lunch "break" is often spent supervising children.

The job of a teacher involves much more than just teaching students.

After the school day, teachers can stay later to assist students who require extra help, and there are usually meetings several afternoons a week.

Additional roles are also expected at different times throughout the year. These include things like:

• coaching school sports teams
• running and attending information nights
• working on school camps
• attending school fairs and discos
• conducting parent-teacher interviews
• organizing and producing school concerts.

After that, many teachers take student work home with them to mark at night and on weekends , especially around report card season.

These non-teaching roles and responsibilities can all add up to teachers doing over 15 hours of unpaid overtime each week, on top of the 37–40 hours of work their positions require.

Consequently, teachers are often exhausted when the end of a term arrives.

Work over the holidays

While most teachers have students in their classes for around 40 weeks a year, they are not just on holiday the rest of the time. Many teachers are busy beyond business hours and work during the holidays to meet the needs of children, parents, colleagues, leaders and system requirements.

Yes, teachers use this non-teaching time to rest and refresh themselves, but they also spend time doing all the tasks they don't have time to do during the busy school terms.

This can include:

planning and preparing for the term ahead

• designing curriculum-aligned learning tasks at the appropriate level for 25-30 different children and developing the required resources (such as activity cards and assignments)

marking and providing feedback on student work

• administrative tasks such as setting up and decorating classrooms , paperwork and writing student support referrals

purchasing items for the classroom

• uploading data to various parent communication and reporting platforms
• training and various professional development units
• conducting extra-curricular activities such as summer school, holiday sports camps, and school trips.

These things are not easily done while you are also teaching and managing the behavior of 25–30 students, so many get pushed to the holidays.

Enjoying things like being able to go to the bathroom whenever they want is also a welcome change!

Resting, recovering and catching up on life

And similar to people in other professions, teachers use their holidays to rest, recover and decompress. They catch up on things like sleep and Netflix and gardening and dentist appointments, and maybe go on a holiday with their family.

It should be acknowledged teachers generally don't get a choice when they take their leave. They often cannot afford to travel with their families as their holidays are in the most expensive and most crowded times of year.

So while teachers may appear to get more holidays than most other professions, the reality is they are not actually on holiday for all of this time.

It is more a mix of flexible work from home, school-based meetings and preparation for the following teaching term, and some holiday downtime to unwind in between tasks.

Research shows many people deeply appreciate teachers' dedication to our school communities.

However, there is work to be done to change widespread and incorrect perceptions about their work hours or holidays, which misrepresents and devalues the work they do.

Provided by The Conversation

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Why teachers should give some homework over breaks

With winter break quickly approaching, teachers are faced with a dilemma; should they assign homework over breaks? Teachers want students to retain their knowledge throughout the break, but they also do not want to overburden their students. Although teachers should not give too much homework, they should assign some homework over break to keep their students’ minds engaged.

Over the holidays, students tend to forget the concepts they have learned in the previous weeks, which is caused by the lack of daily reinforcement during breaks; students usually receive daily reinforcement by attending school. This is extremely detrimental for classes that teach skills that require daily practice to master, such as math. Giving homework over breaks allow students to remember and understand concepts better and perform better when back at school.

In addition, homework keeps students occupied during breaks. Boredom is very common during breaks since students are unsure of how to spend the large periods of time given during break. Assigning homework would eliminate boredom by providing them with something productive to do, allowing them to get ahead on homework, and minimizing the amount they would have to do when they come back.

Homework will also ease students’ transition back to school. The extra work will help them develop a greater understanding of the concepts they have learned. As a result, students will be more prepared and be ready to move onto a new concept when break ends.

Homework over breaks is not only beneficial for students, but also beneficial for teachers, because if teachers were banned from giving homework during break, they would be forced to cram more lessons and increase the workload before and after breaks. This not only will increase the stress on students, but will also reduce the quality of lessons. “It’s not very fair to the teachers if they have to do that because the teaching quality wouldn’t be that good,” freshman Helena Yang noted.

Giving students no school is already enough of a break. During breaks, students can stay home for almost seven hours. These seven extra hours give them plenty of time to complete homework and relax during breaks.

Some critics claim that teachers should not assign homework during breaks because students should not be expected to work during breaks, just as employees are not expected to work during vacations. However, attending school is not an occupation; it is a place to receive an education. The main goal of students is to expand their knowledge and skills, so assigning homework over breaks will help them achieve that goal.

However, there are some limitations to giving homework over breaks; though teachers should still assign homework, they should not assign an excessive amount of it. After all, breaks are given for a reason, and students should not be completely subdued with homework during vacations. Therefore, although students should enjoy their break, they should still receive homework to keep their minds active.

-By Ashley Ye

• homework over break
• winter break

The Student News Site of Richard Montgomery High School

Why We Should Give Students a Homework Break Over the Holidays

• Share article

I have so many fond memories from holiday seasons growing up: the smell of delicious food being made by my Mexican and Filipino families, warm light on the faces of my relatives, and lots of laughter. As I got older, though, things changed—mostly because I had so much homework to do.

Instead of joking with our relatives at the holidays, my brother and I would often sequester ourselves at the edge of the room, thick textbooks open and pens in our hands. Sometimes, we’d miss events altogether. When we did attend, the ramifications could be intense. During one spring break, I chose to go to an Easter party with my family. But by midnight, I was stress-weeping because I had so much work to do by the next day.

As a teacher, I now understand the temptation to give work over school breaks. There never seems to be enough time to do the projects or read the texts I’d like to with my kids, and asking students to work or read during breaks eases that crunch. I also worry that my students will lose some of their learning in the weeks they are gone.

Recently, though, my school created a new homework policy that, among other things, encourages us to avoid giving students work over extended school breaks. Our administration cited studies that raise questions about the benefits of hefty doses of homework.

I worried about how this new plan would affect my curriculum pacing, and about what my students might “lose.” But I realized that my concerns were really about my desires, not what was best for my students.

The new policy led me to re-evaluate my assignments and timing, and I ended up being able to make adjustments so my kids could complete necessary projects without working when they should be recharging. I’d worried about my students’ learning, but recent research challenges our long-held belief that students’ learning “slides” significantly over long breaks.

Taking the stress of homework out of my students’ holiday breaks is important. They deserve an opportunity to relax and rejuvenate as much as I do—particularly if they are overscheduled to begin with. Young or old, we all need rejuvenation time. In addition, more studies are demonstrating the benefits of down time for students. Having unstructured time recharges them, but also allows their brains to build connections that strengthen and improve their executive functioning.

We need to be mindful of other factors that complicate homework assignments over holiday breaks. We don’t always know what our students’ lives are like outside our classrooms. Do they struggle with access to the resources necessary to complete assignments? Do they have stressful home situations?

Here are a few ways we can send our students off on a positive note when they leave us for holiday breaks. I’m trying them myself this winter!

Provide activities that support students reconnecting with themselves, their loved ones, or their community.

While we want to avoid giving mandatory work to students, we can offer opportunities and ideas for learning-friendly activities they can do during their break. Maybe that’s an optional/extra credit project that asks students to interview a family or community member (though we should also provide time after break for those who couldn’t work over break). Or maybe we can offer students some ideas about how they could use their time to take care of themselves or their communities. We could provide reflection questions once they’re back from break, to help them find meaning in the experience. Encouraging students to use their time to volunteer or take care of themselves allows us to help our kids grow not just as students, but as people.

Offer opportunities to find a new passion, set goals, or reflect.

While some students may travel or connect with family, some of our kids may have a lot of free time over their break. We can encourage them to use the time to set goals for the year, dream big and draw or write their five-year plan (remind them this is for fun and plans will change!), or reflect on their year or life so far. We can also encourage students to discover something they’re passionate about, or use the time to pursue something they love.

Deepen your relationships with students and allow them to open up to you.

Sometimes, our kids are simply not given the space to dive deeply into something that lets them tell us who they are. Give students a project that allows them to explore their identity or have them write a story about their lives. This will not only provide some critical thinking, reading, or writing enrichment, but more importantly will provide valuable insight into our students’ lives and help us build deeper connections with our students. We can return the favor by completing the project ourselves or writing a story and sharing it with them.

After the break, see what stuck with students.

Instead of returning from break with the mindset of what was “lost,” give students a chance to share everything they remember from the last unit. Instead of assuming they all had a great time they want to share, welcome kids back with an opportunity to celebrate the experiences that stuck with them from their breaks. Help students generate a class-created study guide so they can review what they learned before the break. This gives them space to support one another and remind each other what they learned, as well as gives us an opportunity to praise students for what they’ve retained. It also provides important feedback for us on what stuck over the break and what we need to reteach.

Ultimately, our students look to us not just for academic growth, but to support their growth as human beings as well. Taking away homework stress over break may cause us to change our short-term plans, but providing them with opportunities and resources instead can have some long-term benefits that can change their self-perception and their lives more than a packet of homework ever could.

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