Summer Homework

When I was a kid summer meant vacation. I used to go to camp to run and play, leaving school work far behind. Not anymore: today's kids have homework all year round and this has become quite a controversy. No intelligent person would question the importance of continuing to learn throughout the summer. Children should read books and visit museums. If they are lucky enough to afford to do so, their parents should take them to visit new sites across the country and even the world. No one is doubting the importance of continuous learning. However, do schools have the right to assign homework during the summer?

One Wisconsin high school student and his father sued a math teacher for assigning summer work. They claimed that since the school year is only 180 days, as mandated by Wisconsin law, the teacher had no right to impose additional work. The judge threw this case out of court.

Despite this judge's decision, I do not believe that public schools have the right to assign summer work. Their mandate of authority lasts for approximately 180 days. Neither teachers or schools have the right to grab additional power for themselves. Assigning summer work might be compared to a police officer saying that children cannot cross the street themselves. Children can cross streets themselves, however hopefully parents will ensure their children's safety. Police officers do not have the right to develop new laws that go above and beyond the laws passed by state, or the federal, governments.

Certainly schools can suggest homework for students. Schools can urge parents to work with their children on specific topics. Indeed, smart schools should and will do this. Research demonstrates that it often takes children two months to catch up to the educational levels they had attained in the previous grade, when they do not study over the summer. But there is a great difference between suggesting and encouraging and requiring.

Unfortunately, in today's society many parents may not require their children to complete work if it is not required. However, this sad fact does not provide schools with the right to require summer homework. Perhaps it does however, scream out the fact that our local and national leaders must emphasize the importance of continuous learning.