Break Means Break

As a rule, I do not assign homework over fall, winter, or spring break. To do so would negate the very nature of the word "break." Certainly, I hope students will pick up a book or engage their minds critically during the week or two off. But to claim they will "lose it" if they don't "use it" during a holiday is ridiculous. And the idea of a major project such as a research paper during a break is simply wrong. I'm not grading papers during breaks - though I am an obsessive lesson planner, so I am always doing something work related. But the idea of kids handing me papers on the first day back is nauseating. We already live and work in a country where we are terrible about actually taking vacations and being off the clock. So let breaks be breaks.