Have a Good Vacation… Oh, Wait, You Forgot Your Homework
Students and teachers conflicted over having homework over winter break
French teacher Helene Ameline assigns final exam review packets, such as this one, over winter break.
Students are on winter break now, and are starting two weeks of snowy fun and relaxation. But we all know that we are in high school, and the dream of a homework-less winter break is impossible.
Teachers are conflicted about assigning homework over the break. Not to mention students, who look forward to winter break only to find out that their stacks of homework are taller than they suspected.
French teacher Helene Ameline said that students “should take this break to relax because you deserved it.” Although Ameline does not assign graded homework, she assigns students parts in their textbook to review for their final exam.
Students usually do not want extra homework during this long-awaited break. “It’s called winter break, not winter homework,” freshman Dawn Falokun said.
“I mean, if it is a finals packet, that is okay, but if it is just plain homework for the sake of homework, I’m not going to do it,” Falokun says.
Science teacher William Scanlon does not assign any homework either. “I don’t assign homework because I tell the students to start looking over things for finals,” he said. “If you haven’t looked at anything, you won’t know what you need help on.”
Math teacher Barbara Arsham sticks with the same philosophy she used during her first year at Shaker. “Vacation is vacation,” she said. “You guys work so hard during the year.” However, she assigns several review packets over winter break.
Sophomore Ilana Solomon agrees with Falokun, and has a strong opinion on the topic. “Winter break homework should not exist,” she said.
Freshman Sydney Fiesler doesn’t think the current timing of final exams is ideal. “I’d rather have finals before break so we don’t have to study over break,” she said. This could be a solution to the need for homework or study packets over break.
But for now, finals follow the end of winter break, and students must study to succeed. “Relax, get some rest, but you need to be preparing for final exams,” Ameline said.
