Dear Schools, Let the Children Breathe

This summer, like every summer, schools across Jammu and Kashmir closed their gates for 15 days from 23 June. The government’s announcement brought relief; and rightly so. The rising temperatures, long hours in school, and the weariness that piles up over the academic year make the summer break not just welcome, but necessary.

Children looked forward to the break the way only children can; with dreams of mornings without alarms, afternoons of cricket or cycling, evenings with cousins, or simply long naps beside a ceiling fan. And yet, as soon as the holidays were announced, most students came home with another load to carry; holiday homework.

Neatly written in diaries, or shared via WhatsApp groups, were lists: make models, write essays, fill worksheets, prepare assignments. For many families, the holiday spirit was quickly replaced by a different kind of pressure; that of completing everything before school reopens. Parents began worrying more about glue sticks and chart paper than about giving their kids a true break.
And this is where we need to pause and ask: What exactly are we trying to achieve with this load of holiday homework?

Do we fear that if children stop doing 'school work' for a few weeks, they will fall behind? Or is it just a habit we have never questioned?

Let's be honest. Most of the so-called holiday work ends up being done by parents. Many children don't even understand the purpose of the assignments they’re asked to do. Projects are copied from the internet. Scrapbooks are pasted together in a rush. The focus is on 'finishing', not 'understanding'.

But more importantly; we are taking something valuable away from our children: a chance to just be children. Summer is a time to slow down, to visit grandparents, to explore the world outside textbooks. It's a time to get bored and then use that boredom to be creative. A child who picks up a storybook on their own, helps their mother in the kitchen, waters a plant daily, or watches ants carry crumbs is learning just as much, if not more.

Not everything meaningful in a child's life has to come with marks or grades.
This is not to say all homework is bad. A little reading, a creative journal, a letter to a friend these are gentle ways to keep young minds engaged. But let's not drown them in assignments that serve no real purpose.

Let's respect the spirit of a holiday. Let the break be a break not school in disguise.
Because the truth is, children grow fast. Their school years fly by. What they will remember are the mangoes in the afternoon sun, the tales their grandmother told, the muddy shoes after a rainy football game not the number of worksheets they completed over the summer.

So dear schools, dear teachers, dear education planners, let the children breathe. Let them live their summer. Let them come back to school rested, not rushed. And let them learn not just from books, but from life.