When the word "summer" is mentioned to a child, the last thing that runs through their mind is summer homework. By the time the school year comes to an end, a typical student's brain is so fried from 10 months of school that all they really look forward to during the last months of school is a two-month break. With the mention of summer homework, the child's idea of a nice, relaxing summer goes straight out the window. Although it is a common fact that two months without any type of brain work leads to forgetting learned lessons, the given homework from schools puts a lot of stress on the students which is the opposite of what summer is supposed to accomplish.
Although a small amount of work is agreeable upon both school and child during the summer months, it is pushed upon by school faculty that students should receive a lot of summer work that involves multiple hours of focus and determination to accomplish for a significant grade upon their return to school. It is argued upon by parents that students do not receive enough downtime during the school year due to the extreme amount of work being assigned, and the fact that children receive summer work during their "school break" is unreasonable. Children with growing brains need to learn and work hard in order to accomplish success in life, but why assign school work during their summer break? When is the line crossed between freedom and control from school work? Summer school work basically takes the time away from the children's downtime to relax and prepare for another 10 months of constant, grueling school work.
Most children groan when the feared "summer reading" is mentioned and handed out the last few days of school. But what children don't know is how much the little bit of reading helps. If children would simply read a few minutes everyday or every other day during the summer, there is a good chance that they would receive better grades in school, they would eventually enjoy reading and, most importantly, schools would do away with summer reading because the goal of summer reading is to get children to use their brains during the course of a two-month break from education. It is a known fact that reading helps improve brain function, but for children, they do not care about their brains as long as they are having fun during the summer months. This is where the parents' involvement needs to come into play, the parents need to ensure that their child is taking the time to read and fill their brains to full capacity. With the increase in mental illnesses in America, it would help the children in schools if summer work was given by parents in order to keep their child's brain active during the summer months.
