It’s the last day of school before winter break, and instead of heading home with an empty backpack and clear conscience, you’re weighed down by packets of work and the looming reminder of all your new Canvas assignments. Suddenly, a real break feels a million miles away because you know the entirety of the two weeks off will be spent trying to catch up.

It seems unfair to call something so anticipated a “break,” and then load people down with work so they won’t be able to spend it like one. For the whole of the nine-month school year, we are given three separate breaks for holidays, which total around 28 days, not including weekends or teacher work days. You could argue that having work to do over break is helpful because it means that you won’t forget what you’ve been learning, but most students agree that the amount of work given by some teachers during time off is overwhelming.

In a survey done by The Wolf staff, 70 percent of students said that they had homework or projects over the end-of-semester break, and about 90 percent agreed that teachers should not be allowed to assign work during holidays and breaks.

Some students said that having homework over break prevented them from spending time with family, added unneeded stress and made it so that they couldn’t study for upcoming tests. When asked if they felt adequately rested, 76 percent of people responded ‘no.’ However, some students admitted that it was their own procrastination and busy schedules that held them back from getting stuff done. People also proposed solutions, stating that some homework is fine to give out for a break, but it shouldn’t be something as big as a project or packet. A couple of respondents said that their only assignments were from IB classes.

Aside from time to rest, people have commitments to attend and fulfill. Things like jobs and sports can take up a lot of time, and if you add to that the ever-growing Canvas to-do list, it can be impossible to keep up with everything.

Both perspectives of teacher and student are fair in their own right. It’s reasonable to not want your students to forget new material or lose motivation over the course of a break. On the other hand, students want to be able to forget about work and leave school behind for a little while. That’s not to say that teachers don’t feel that way, but then how can we come to a consensus that doesn’t take time from our vacation?

When Spring Break rolls around next week, think about your assignments first. Plan ahead so that you can spend time doing what you want instead of stressing out. In an ideal situation, students and teachers could work together to create a schedule that works for everyone, with an agreed amount of time for work in class and work over weekends and breaks. Maybe we can even agree to respect time off.