Every night I worry about getting everything done because it takes me way too long to get through it all. In some of my classes, I’m learning about how much sleep teenagers are supposed to get, but no one gets their recommended 9 hours. Most people are lucky to get 6 hours during the week. Some people stay up late to finish assignments, and even wake up early the next morning to do more work.
This is because we are all assigned so much homework. On top of spending 7 hours in school, we are expected to get involved and prepare for SATs (or ACTs) and do homework. Some teachers assign homework like they are the only class that the student has. I’ve spent multiple hours on assignments for certain classes - while still having to do work for other classes. By the time I get home from practice or work, I usually don’t end up starting my homework until 9. On those nights, I’m usually up until midnight actually doing homework. And if I stay up any later, I won’t get anything else done. Being up all day and then being up into the night is not good for students. Some nights, students only get 2 or 3 hours of sleep.
Teachers also don’t understand that homework can only do so much in helping students remember what they learned that day. Most of the assignments I receive are busy work, and there are so many extra questions that are taking up valuable time I could spend on other assignments. It is unnecessary to do basically the same question 10 times. As long as the student knows what they’re doing, the other questions should be optional.
Also, most teachers only grade homework on completion. If a student doesn’t have time to finish, their grade suffers. Students should be the judge of how much they need to do outside the classroom. If they don’t do well in a class, it should be up to them to take the time to review that material at home.
Homework is taking up the limited free time that students have. If a student is on a sports team, they probably have practice every day. When they get home, they probably just want to relax after a long day, but they have homework to do; homework that cuts into the 9 hours of sleep teenagers are supposed to get every night.
Homework is supposed to ensure that students remember and review the material they learn in class. It's not just something to keep us busy.
