Spring break, a time of rest and relaxation is ruined by one word: homework.

Spring Break week contains the final days students have off before summer. This period of time is supposed to be nothing but fun times and study-free days. However, teachers occasionally ruin a student’s ideal break by bombarding them with unwanted projects, homework and reviews of old lessons.

“I think we shouldn’t have homework over spring break because it’s important that we have a break from school so we aren’t overly stressed,” senior Erica Mallari said.

A break is a break. Ideally, it is supposed to be a time where students can pursue their own interests instead of stressing about doing more work. However, teachers often utilize a break to give students the ability to review previous lessons or even begin new material.

Worst of all, a student will naturally procrastinate until the last minute to do their assignments. This causes dissatisfaction all around, as the student does not produce quality work and therefore, their grades may suffer.

According to “Should Students Have Homework Over Break?”  published by Scholastic News in Nov. 2015, homework over breaks serve as practice for students to review what they learned in class. Practice is necessary so students don’t forget what they learned in the course of the school year. Homework over breaks benefit students because they have the time to review old lessons.

“I’m trying to get assignments done ahead of time,” said Biology teacher James Morrison. “I feel like my students are right where they need to be, so I don’t feel like homework is necessary right now.”

In the article “Should Students Have Homework Over Break?” published by Scholastic News, it was stated that in other school districts, like in Princeton, New Jersey, teachers are forbidden to give homework over break. This rule became implemented in 2015 in New Jersey because officials believe students need time to relax and recuperate from all the stress school has given to them.

“I don’t think that students should be given a lot, but it has been proven that students lose knowledge that they gained over the school year over break,” freshman Katharina Hanna said.  “So, I think some homework should be given so students can retain what they learned.”

As much as students desire to keep their grades up and do well in all classes, sometimes a break is necessary for individuals not to fall into that mindset where all they want to do is get the work done and not put any real effort into their work. If assignments are given, the majority of students will usually not learn anything, so assignments over break are an unnecessary waste of time.