It’s only getting more difficult: teachers are assigning too much homework
Many worry the workload has become unbearable
by Madison Lestage
December 7, 2020
December 7, 2020
Some people may say that the amount of homework teachers assign each night is reasonable. Many people take the stance that homework is vital to a student’s education and that teachers must give homework in order to ensure that a student is understanding the information they are being taught. Also, many people believe that homework is a necessary way to show teachers certain areas of struggle that their students need to work on.
Although I agree that homework is a vital component to a well-rounded education, I also believe that at a certain point it becomes too much. For students at Yarmouth High School, transitioning from all in-school learning to online learning has proven difficult for many people, and the workload that comes along with this transition has only seemed to increase and become even harder to stay on top of. In my opinion, especially during this time, teachers at Yarmouth High School should assign less homework to ensure the overall well-being of their students.
As a student, I can argue that many high school teachers assign too much homework. It has been evident, in myself and others, that students are even being affected by the excessive amounts of homework they are receiving. Nowadays in school, it sometimes feels like teachers are more concerned with students completing their work than comprehending it. According to an article published by Stanford University on March 10, 2014, homework has proven to be the primary stressor for most students. Because of this, students have become more concerned with passing than they are with learning.
Too much homework has led students to be stressed, sleep-deprived, avoid time with friends and family, etc. Sophomore Grace Lestage expresses her concerns about her workload. When asked about how much homework she has this year and how it affects her, she replied, “I have so much homework this year that even after spending hours on it when I get home from school, I’m still forced to stay up super late to finish it. I never get enough sleep and am almost never able to go hang out with my friends during weekdays anymore.”
Another overlying issue involves participation in extracurriculars. As a student, I can attest to the fact that teachers strongly encourage their students to partake in activities outside of schools such as extracurriculars and sports. However, many students that are involved in these types of activities have a difficult time finishing their homework each night because they are given such an unbearable load. During sports seasons, it becomes increasingly difficult for some athletes to get homework done due to exhaustion after practice and games. Sophomore Mollie Blaschke claims, “when I get home from tennis matches on a school night, I’m usually way too tired to do any homework. I have to choose between staying up late and finishing it or just going to bed. Sometimes I’m just too tired and cannot stay up, but this just makes me fall behind with work and get even more stressed about all of my work piling up.” Taking part in these activities just adds to the stress of getting homework done, when it should be an enjoyable experience for all high school athletes.
Another issue with the amount of homework we are assigned is that it is hard to balance our social life with homework, and we never get any time to relax. When students get home, we do homework for hours on end. Since March of 2018, the National P.T.A. (a nationally recognized group of parents, teachers, and staff that work together to make schools better and safer for students) has publicly recommended that students spend ten minutes per grade level per night on homework. That equates to ten minutes of homework in the first grade, twenty minutes in the second grade, all the way up to 120 minutes for senior year of high school. Some students work on homework from the second they get home until they go to bed which leaves them with no time to spare. Senior Natalie Lorentzen is no exception. Lorentzen is in three Advanced Placement (AP) classes and claims that she “spend[s] anywhere from three to four hours a night on homework most nights.” This is up to two times her recommended amount.
In conclusion, I am certainly someone who believes in the usefulness of homework. However, I believe that homework should be used as a tool to help students learn. Once it gets to the point where homework is affecting your health, social life, and more, I believe that homework is no longer useful. It is in my strongest opinion that teachers should assign less homework to their busy students.