Is it fair for a teacher to give a book report over the summer.?

Question

Shes making us write a 10 page essay on it to.I love schooland im excited for it to start back in 2 weeks but in the summer no.

Answer 1

My daughters school had everyone in the high school do this over the summer. I'm not sure about the other schools. It is crazy.

Answer 2

it really not fair...summer it time for relax our mind

Answer 3

I always had to read 3 or 4 books and either write a paper or take a test on them.  Especially in high school.

I think it's fair.  You've got plenty of time, and there are worse things than excercizing your brain a little, right?

Answer 4

I'm in IB Language Arts (International Baccalaureate---it's basically an advanced placement program) and I've had to read books for school over the summer every year. We're also supposed to do annotations, but I've never done them over the summer. ^_^ I got to Fairview High School in Boulder, CO. It's a public school.

We have to do a lot of work in these classes, and we learn a lot, so I suppose it's reasonable to have summer reading, but it's still annoying.

Answer 5

Are you going to have the same teacher as last year? I have never heard of someone doing this because typically you change teachers. But, if that is the assignment, then they can do it.

Answer 6

very few teachers do this anymore. If I were your parent I would talk to the school board because technically a teacher can not make you do work when you haven't officially started the new grade yet.

Answer 7

No!  That's crazy!

Answer 8

This is completely normal, especially if you are in Advanced classes, At my high school we had teachers that gave assignments over the summer to their next year's students.

When I was a freshmen I had an assignment to read 2 books over the summer and write a summary of every chapter and then a 5 page book report on each. This was for my Honors English class.

So I think its normal.

And every summer the work for my Honors English class just kept on getting larger and harder, but I had to do it, It was a huge part of our grade, and no one wanted to start the semester with a bad grade, so everyone does it.

I graduated in 2007, and do not miss the work.

Answer 9

Some teachers do that so you don't get rusty and not read or process for 2 or 3 months.  I'm not saying I agree with it, but I know it happens.  The AP teachers at our school do it, but they are not real long books.

Answer 10

What grade are you in?  This sounds a little out of line.  Are you in a private school?

Answer 11

That just sounds wrong. Summer is supposed to be a break from all that. But, rules are rules and you can't avoid doing it. If you didn't find your book yet, I can give you some really good titles and/or authors.

Answer 12

Learning is an on-going process.  At your age, it is important that you are able to exercise self-discipline and take some responsibility for you own learning.  At my school, every grade level (even K) has a reading list for the summer.  Our lists also include key skills for each subject area that a child needs in order to achieve success in the next grade.  Many parents appreciate this, as they realize they are ultimately responsible for the education of their child.  

Teachers do not give any assignments to be mean or unfair.  Keep in mind, you are reading a book, and writing one paper.  How many papers will your teacher read and grade when school commences?  There are some lousy teachers out there, but most of us are humans who are not going to committ ourselves to unnecessary work.  If your teacher feels it is valuable enough for his/her time, they have also deemed it to be a valuable experience for you.