3/21/2018 6 Comments TOO MUCH HOMEWORKToday's High School students are given too much homework. This mountain of work isn't new, its been there all year long, but it is weighing down on students especially this time of year. It's not senior-itis, or junior-itis, or whatever you want to call it. Kids are getting burnt out and stressed out. The average nightly homework load is taking a toll on teenagers, whether its due to the teachers, or the structure of the school system.
Holly Roberts wrote an article for LIVESTRONG.com that details the effects of the work load on teenagers. Roberts explains the different types of effects: academic, emotional, health, and family. She explains that "For most teens, homework is part of high-school life, who spend an average of four hours each week doing homework ". I am not sure if because this article is three years old, or Roberts isn't looking at the same school I am, but it's more like an average of four hours a night. This doesn't include extra curricular activities, eating a meal, or actually taking time to be with your family or take care of yourself. And once all these things are accomplished, if possible, there is no time left for what else students should be doing: hobbies, friends, college and scholarship applications, jobs, more family time, devotion, etc. And if you think students get time to do these things on the weekends, you're usually wrong, since students have a bigger workload since teachers assume we have more time to get it done. So much homework alone hurts a students motivation, disrupts family life, makes kids less active, and decreases the amount of sleep teens need to perform and live well. Robert has found that "More than two hours of homework a night, though, did not improve a student’s future academic achievements, though, according to Cooper's 2006 study published in the "Review of Educational Research." Too much could prove counter-productive to academic success, especially if the homework isn’t appropriate for a teen, because it’s too challenging or not challenging enough." Raychelle Cassada Lohmann very recently elaborated on what I have mentioned in her article "How Much Homework Is Too Much for Our Teens?". Lohmann understands the amount of work that high schoolers, especially 11th graders, get and the pressure we are faced with, especially this time of year. She proposes that "Whether it’s setting up a shared school-wide assignment calendar or collaborating across curriculums during faculty meetings, educators need to discuss upcoming tests and projects, so students don’t end up with lots of assignments all competing for their attention and time at once." I can agree with her idea but teachers should also look at what is necessary or just busy work for students and how much time in class they give students to work, A modified schedule with long class periods should include a work time long enough to get work done. Teachers also need to understand how long it actually takes a student to do the work they assigned. What do you think about the amount of homework today's teenagers, especially at my school, do each night and how do we fix it?
6 Comments
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Izzy
4/20/2018 02:44:39 pm
I often feel very overwhelmed with homework too, Sarah! I will usually try to stay a day ahead on homework during the week so I’m not doing every class’s homework on Thursday night.
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Katie M.
3/31/2018 07:09:55 am
The homework load for juniors is so stressful, especially this time of year. Do you think that the homework load can affect a teen's relationship with family and friends because there is little time left to interact after completing homework?
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Absolutely! I tend to be more tense with so much work, making a positive relationship with my family harder. It is also hard for me to not be upset when the rest of my family is relaxing, watching a show together, or hanging out since I am not able to be with them. I have little time to spend with friends too, which also makes things a little distant from friends sometimes. Keeping up these relationships is hard. I spend as much time I can with family and friends, but I also need to save time for myself and rest.
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4/18/2018 06:59:05 am
I agree with Hayley’s reponse on how excessive amounts of homework can cause a strain on family relationships. I know that I struggle a lot with finding time to spend with my mom and get all my assignments completed. Leave a Reply. |
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