From 9:30 a.m. on June 5 until August 25 at 7:33 a.m., school is out and summer is in. For this two and a half months, students are free from the stress that comes from being a high school student, homework, and tests.

Each year, the summer shrinks. Years ago, school was getting out mid-May. Now, schools are getting out in June. With this shortened break, and lengthened school year, students are spending more time in school, sitting at a desk, listening to lectures and working hard.

It is difficult sometimes for summer to feel like a break since some students are working and others are doing pre-college programs. Adding summer assignments is just way more to put on a teenager’s workload.

At Plant, summer reading is usually a novel and then students are required to fill out charts or worksheets to help them prepare for an assessment that they take when school is back in session. Students are held accountable for this work since the assessment is part of their grade.

During the school year, students study hard for ten months and get two months off for summer. During this time, it is only fair that they would actually get to relax and not worry about school during this time. It is difficult to balance a summer job, summer assignments, traveling, and spending time with friends.