Summer's over

[Lorelei Lee]

As I am thinking about it, my older daughter, who did not have the inclination or motivation for AP classes, also had summer assignments.

The assignments didn't interfere with camp or jobs or vacations. Older dd managed one summer doing "nothing".

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[kerstfan1]

be glad u guys get such a long summer vacation elementry here only gets 6 weeks and highschool only 7 weeks

 

[Sparkly]

Wow- our school ended in mid July and didn't return until the beginning of September. No summer work or obligations, just a month and a half of holiday time. After working hard all year, it was good to have the time to relax and enjoy my freedom.

I slept in, (SHOCK HORROR) played videogames and relaxed. Just the way it should be.

 

[HerRoyalHighness]

Wow, this post is both insulting to both students not in AP courses and teachers! Students who take regular courses just party and the teachers don't know the course material! Nice generalizations!

That poster said that they "know plenty" and did not insinuate that "all" were like that.

What confuses me is that "some posters" feel that it's such a bad idea for their children to get a leg up on their competition. Why should your kid do it now when they can wait until college when it's thousands per credit hour?

 

[Robbi]

If schools weren't so concerned with testing, then there wouldn't be a need to play "catch-up." Personally, that's a pretty light load. I was in high school ten years ago, and I had to read 5 books every summer.

Your daughter hopefully isn't being forced into doing that other stuff. Education is so important throughout life. (I agree with the AP stuff- it's good to take those classes, but there's no need to take those exams.) Complaining that there's too much work just instills in your daughter that if it's too hard, it's not worth doing. Hey, she's learning how to multitask- something she needs to learn in college! (Unless she's getting her Bachelor's in Partying...)

To the other posters that are complaining that school breaks are meant for doing nothing, I feel bad for your kids. They need to enjoy life, but they also need to be shown that there is more to life than video games and binge drinking on the weekends (I'm sure your kids don't do that stuff, but I know plenty of high schoolers who prefer to drink and smoke instead of doing something productive). That being said, if you don't like the school, just homeschool your kids. I'm sure you know more than the educators who are paid to teach it.

This post was offensive in so many ways I don't know where to start.
Kids can relax without playing video games or binge drinking. Maybe that's how you guys spent your summers. I can't swear mine never drank-they probably did as a lot of kids do. They hardly ever played video games. All were involved in sports.

You were in high school 10 years ago. Give me a break. Unless you had a child when you were 12 or 13, you don't have a child in high school and cannot understand how the OP feels. It aggravated the heck out of me that schools thought their time was more important for my child than family time was.

I did end up homeschooling my daughter. She graduated with a 3.8 average. Her school is accredited. She also breezed through the state's exit exam. While I'm not claiming to know as much perhaps about methodology in teaching, I can more than hold my own when it comes to knowledge.

.....

We found the entire AP thing to be pretty useless. Yes, they need to take AP classes and do well in them to get looked at by the competitive Universities. However, even if they pass the AP test with a 3,4, or 5, there's no guarantee that this will be accepted by the universities. If they are, they sometimes are only "elective" credit in the subject, not a direct substitute for a course. Besides, if you are going to be a bio major (for example), you really want to take your bio courses in your department, not test out of them. I know very few kids who got outstanding AP scores in science or math fields who were allowed to "skip" that intro class in college and move onto the more challenging stuff, and the few who did, didn't recommend doing it that way.

My DD's high school might be an anomaly, though. All the kids in AP classes did outstandingly well in the class, but very few scored higher than a 3 on many of the actual AP tests. Grade inflation, anyone?

We also found this to be true. Professors we know at both state and private universities said the AP courses are mostly just decoration on a high school transcript. They did not even push their kids to take them. Locally, kids doing well in high school can take college courses as part of their school day.

 

[luvsJack]

That poster said that they "know plenty" and did not insinuate that "all" were like that.

What confuses me is that "some posters" feel that it's such a bad idea for their children to get a leg up on their competition. Why should your kid do it now when they can wait until college when it's thousands per credit hour?

She insinuated that if they aren't spending the summer doing school work then they will be playing video games and binge drinking. She also insinuated that if they don't take AP classes they will be studying "partying" or some such nonsense in college. Neither of those two are anywhere close to true.

 

[Hrhpd]

I did not have a single assignment I had to do over the summer when I was a kid. Not one from Kindergarten through high school. I also only remember one assignment I was supposed to do over Christmas break but that ended up being canceled because the last two days before break were snow days. I find the whole concept strange.

Did you take any AP or IB classes?

 

[Hrhpd]

I disagree, mine has never had this much work over the summer, even with his AP classes, and yet he somehow has managed to pass, with flying colors, his AP tests for college credit.

NOw he hasn't taken all AP classes, but has taken 3. Only one had a huge summer project.

Well, according to the other posts here, your son is very much in the minority.

Does anybody gripe about sports and other activities starting in the summer?

As I said, DS started football today. 2 hours lifting from 8-10 and this afternoon, 3 hours of conditioning.

Nobody seems to think sports activities or marching band (who have an even more grueling summer schedule) is wrong to do in the summer. But academics? That is ruining a kid's summer

 

[wvjules]

Neither myself or DD ever had any summer homework. Sure, she had a reading list but that was it. I'm glad my child got to enjoy her summers. Now that she's a teen it leaves her more time for binge drinking and partying.

 

[Hrhpd]

My kid is doing 5 hours of football a day, 2 hours of swim team a day, Plus his 3 AP packets.

And damn it, he is still managing to play video games right now. Better lock up the booze because the binge drinking must be next.

 

[luvsJack]

Neither myself or DD ever had any summer homework. Sure, she had a reading list but that was it. I'm glad my child got to enjoy her summers. Now that she's a teen it leaves her more time for binge drinking and partying.

 

[sam_gordon]

Just to continue the conversation...

Is there anything that shows more homework is better over the summer? Hrhpd, you've got a good point about sports & band. But one could make the argument that that work makes them a better athlete/musician. Does more homework make one a better student?

Yes, I get some work is good to "keep the brain working". But how much is too much?

 

[pigletgirl]

I graduated high school 6 years ago. I was in AP Eng for the entire 4 years (summer before freshman year, we had minimal work, but still work!) and each summer we were required to read 5 books (from a list of about 30 or so, give or take) and write a 3 page narrative on it for each book. My family never did much until July so the end of May and June were dedicated to get the work done. If you're smart about it, you get it done. It's called be proactive.

I see nothing wrong with having a summer assignment.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Hour a day for 10 weeks? Sounds like a semester to me

And no, if she had NO other plans, it wouldn't be too tough. Not really the point though, especially since it was sprung on her AFTER school let out.

10 hours of homework for two classes is hardly a semester. As I recall, a 3 credit course met 3 hours per week for 15 weeks. And that was just classroom time, not reading or studying time.

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[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

That's how it is here too if you take AP classes.

The kids have always had reading assignments over summer. But those are pretty basic. It's a short book report.

 

[sam_gordon]

10 hours of homework for two classes is hardly a semester. As I recall, a 3 credit course met 3 hours per week for 15 weeks. And that was just classroom time, not reading or studying time.

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I read Gumbo as an hour a day (so 5 hours/week) for 10 weeks... that's 50 hours. 3 hours/week for 15 weeks would be 45 hours. Sounds close to me. BUT, a passing AP test (if accepted) is worth two semesters, correct? So that would be 90 hours.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

And should I mention? My older daughter coaches JV cheerleading. She's doing "camp" with her girls once a week for the entire summer. So far no one complained.

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[Lorelei Lee]

I read Gumbo as an hour a day (so 5 hours/week) for 10 weeks... that's 50 hours. 3 hours/week for 15 weeks would be 45 hours. Sounds close to me. BUT, a passing AP test (if accepted) is worth two semesters, correct? So that would be 90 hours.

I'm not sure . . . My daughter took a lot of AP classes and I'm not sure how they "counted" at her school.

My own experience, back in the dark ages. I took AP American History and AP English. My college gave me credit for American History 1 and American History 2, each was a semester class, total of 6 credits. Also got 6 credits in English.

Trying to remember what my daughter took. English language and English literature. American History. Government. Economics. Psychology I think? Statistics. She dropped AP Spanish halfway through senior year, she loved the subject but had petsonality issues with the teacher. School wouldn't give her credit for Statistics, but since she struggled with it the first time around, taking it again wasn't a bad thing. She wound up with a total of 15 credits as an incoming freshman.

Conventional wisdom is that you should spend 2-3 hours studying for every credit hour in a college classroom. So 15 hours per week in a typucal semester = at least 30 hours in the library.

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[luvsJack]

You know these threads always end up being "MY kid does 15 hours a day of school work, tutors little kids for 2 hours a day and goes to cheer camp 6 hours a day" I always read it and add--". . . and walks 10 miles to school . . . in the snow. . . barefoot. . . uphill. . . both ways.

Some kids need a break in the summer. Some kids will simply burn out if they continue being stretched to the limit with the amount of work they are given.

AP classes may be invaluable to some, but that doesn't mean it has to be to all. If a parent or student is not willing to give up the family time that summer can bring for these classes, then the student shouldn't take them without feeling like a slacker.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

You know these threads always end up being "MY kid does 15 hours a day of school work, tutors little kids for 2 hours a day and goes to cheer camp 6 hours a day" I always read it and add--". . . and walks 10 miles to school . . . in the snow. . . barefoot. . . uphill. . . both ways.

Some kids need a break in the summer. Some kids will simply burn out if they continue being stretched to the limit with the amount of work they are given.

AP classes may be invaluable to some, but that doesn't mean it has to be to all. If a parent or student is not willing to give up the family time that summer can bring for these classes, then the student shouldn't take them without feeling like a slacker.

Exactly. As I said earlier, my older dd didn't have the inclination. She didn't take any AP classes. She holds a BA, is working on her Master's, teaches nursery school and coaches cheerleading. That she actually landed a job in her field in this day and age . . .

My younger dd was academically motivated in kindergarten. There was never a question in my mind that she was headed for honors and AP classes. The university she attends strongly recommends that applicants take AP classes. She loves her school. Her sister would have hated it there.

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