As soon as the last bell rings on the last day of school, students only have one thing on their mind, and that is summer. It’s supposed to be a break from waking up early, tests, and staying up late studying. But for most students, they never get to feel that feeling because there’s always summer homework on their mind. Teachers say it helps stay on track, but a lot of students would just say it defeats the purpose of having a break.

Teachers assign summer homework to prevent what they call “summer learning loss,” which basically means students forget what they learned during the school year, which makes sense. If you don’t practice something for a few months, you’re probably not going to remember it as well as when you were doing it every day. Reading and doing review work can help, so you’re not completely lost when school starts again. No one wants to spend weeks of school relearning what they did last year.

But students also need a break. The school year is already packed with assignments, extracurriculars, and other responsibilities. So summer is one of the only times everyone gets to relax, hang out with friends, go on vacation without worrying about having to make up school work, or just not feel stressed all the time. Adding on summer assignments just makes it feel like the school year never comes to an end. Instead of letting go and relaxing, people feel the need to get work done.

Another problem is that summer homework isn’t always fair. Not everyone has the same situation at home. Some people have summer jobs or family responsibilities, so an assignment that might be easy for one student to make time for might be really hard for another. That can make summer homework more stressful than helpful, especially if it’s worth a decent amount of the student’s grade.

A better idea would be to make summer work optional. The school could give suggestions, like books to read or give optional assignments, instead of making it a requirement. That way, students who want to stay productive can, but the other students who may not have time can take care of their other responsibilities without feeling guilty. When people have a choice, they are more likely to put in genuine effort.

Overall, summer should be a mix of both relaxing and growing, but not in a way that makes students feel forced. Summer homework might have intentions of helping students, but it adds more stress. If the school wanted students to come back ready to learn and not go down the “summer slide,” they should allow them to actually have a break first.