This winter break, after taking a few days off of thinking about school, I reluctantly opened my laptop to my assignments on Google Classroom. Ten assignments. From one class alone.
When it comes to school breaks, some teachers see them as an opportunity to give more homework than usual, either because they want to stay on schedule or because they don’t want us forgetting the material. No matter the reason, students need to find time to devote to school work during a period that is supposed to be a break from just that, and doing so is not always easy. Many people travel over the holidays to spend time with their families, explore new places, or do winter activities, so school work is nothing but an inconvenience. It’s so difficult for students to find a work/life balance when the few periods of rest we actually have are filled with assignments from every class. We need time to let ourselves truly relax, and when there is the constant weight of assignments that need to be done on our shoulders, it’s impossible to do so.
However, for many higher level classes, teachers have no choice but to cram in material due to the rigid structures of the courses, and part of that means assigning work over break to stay on track. I understand that sticking to a set schedule is vital for many classes, but I would much rather have a busier week before break than have to cover new material by myself over break. There was no work that I had over the recent winter vacation that couldn’t have been assigned throughout the week before break or even the beginning of the week after break.
Although giving students absolutely no work over the holidays might result in being set back a few days, it’s worth it for students’ well-being and stress relief. Let us enjoy our school vacations in peace and actually give the word “vacation” meaning.