Should we have homework over Christmas break?

That it will keep your brain sharp and that I am glad I am not still in school.

Sure. But not too much. After all-it’s a Christmas break
of course I got an overload :Þ

I gave my AP history class 2 chapters to do with essay assignments. And I never give a party the day before the break, I gave a test. he-he-he (I also gave the a practise DBQ essay)

I don’t believe we should have homework, and thankfully, I didn’t have any except some makeup math.

Stupid Z-Dawg. I wasn’t there on Friday so she didn’t give me the character analysis papers :)

I also don’t believe in makeup work. (Damn, I’m mean)

Lol, i hope that she expects you guys to still do it. Like find out from people cause that would be great. Its so long though 15 characters i think and 5 good and bad traits for each. Ugh..lol i just used cliff and spark notes makes it soo easy. Plus since i didnt read the last like 10 chapters.

Heck yeah you should have homework. Your lucky you get the time off you did. Schools your job. Most people that have jobs are lucky to get Christmas and another day off if they are lucky.

I’m with buster.

School helps teach you how to work later in life. You have responsibilities, you’re lucky you got a break at all. In my opinion they’re unnecessary.

Think of it this way, when you get to college you won’t have homework or assignments over winter break! Atleast I don’t, I wish I had something to do! I’m bored and WANT to get back to school!

I’m a teacher and I think homework is bogus.

If someone came to me and said, “Hey, you can have all this time off for Christmas! All you have to do is this one assignment.” I would be totally extatic and jump at the chance!!!

I have a massive project due on the third day of school after break. Yeah, starts back up on Monday, and I haven’t started. I’m supposed to take pictures of different random things. Yearbook I photograghy skills. Some of them have to be on campus, and cameras were only allowed the week before semester tests before break. And my only camera is my iPhone, no lie. Haha. Looks like I’ll get a 0 on the 250 point project. Oh well. I have an xbox now and couldn’t be happier. Haha.

Well at least we will never run out of fast food workers with XBoxes.

I have a twelve minute presentation to do on a novel, due next week Tuesday. I have 4.5 minutes done. Fuck.

If it makes you guys feel any better, For every essay you have to write, your teacher has to read 30.

I’m a senior in high school, in the International Baccalaureate diploma program.

Over break, we have a presentation to finalize (data analysis, statistics work), a rough draft of an assessment due (~1000 words, more research than writing), a rough draft of our Extended Essay (4000 words), some Spanish homework, a chapter to outline (~5 pages notes?) for government, a chapter outline (~2–3 pages notes) for biology, and a lot of organization to do.

This is on top of college applications (just finished!) and the usual Christmas/Hanukkah preparations.

Yeah, it’s stressful, yeah, it’s hard, yeah, shit sucks. But I’m getting a hell of an education, and I’m putting work into it. I’m applying to Ivies (not that I’m getting in to Ivies, but hey), I’m in small classes, and I love my teachers and classmates. It’s stimulating. It feels good. I gave up whining about break work a very long time ago. (We have summer-break work too.)

As people noted before, you’re going to have work to do all your life. I don’t see that as “better slack off now while you still can”, I see that as “build good work and study habits because life isn’t easy, and when you’re good at getting done what needs to get done, you’ll do well and get what YOU want in the end rather than being at the mercy of people who can do better than you.”

If I have free time, I find more to do. Not for school. For myself.

I think you need to learn to deal with what comes your way. When you’re an adult, you don’t get Christmas break and you even have to bring work home with you.

It’s important that students be able to enjoy time with their friends and families and to have have down-time. Students spend 6–8 hours in school each day, that should be enough time to get things done. What needs to be rethought is how a school day is structured and that we ask students to compartmentalize information that shouldn’t be. It’s difficult to make changes to the system, which is why a majority of schools are still operating like it’s 1850.

Megan: I agree with you completely but there are reasons why the way we will continue to deliver education traditionally.

1. The people who run the system are unimaginative and scared of criticism. If they can’t actually see a teacher standing in front of rows of students, they can’t believe education is actually happening.

2. The people who pay for the system are unimaginative and scared of change. They want to model education on a business plan based on efficiency in production rather than quality of product. Like a sausage factory all the ingredients are tossed into the hopper with the idea that a uniform product will be delivered. Of course that doesn’t happen because sometimes you are dealing with prime ingredients and other times its offal. In the end all you get is sausage.

3. If grandpa had to learn it, then by gum, kids today should learn it too! Ergo how many bushels does it take to fill a wagon?

4. The traditional way is memorization, not critical thinking. Critical thinking leads to change which is too scary to the unimaginative.

5. Traditional teaching is the cheapest way. Most Americans are short term thinkers and don’t see that cheap now has high costs in the future.

@galileogirl Exactly, exactly, yes, yes, yes.

I’m an idealist, so I keep hoping there’ll be a change, and…Charter schools.

I don’t think they should! It is your break and you deserve it! Plus, some kids work over break…...

As long as it can be completed in two days of hard work, I’m fine with homework over the break—your teachers don’t want you to forget everything while you are goofing off. If it goes over two days of hard work (and that’s for everyone, not one teacher) I think it is excessive.

Be happy you have a teacher who ares enough to make sure you learn and don’t forget. Lots of people aren’t that lucky.