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Veronica Molina

Storer

English 3H

26 November 2019

Homework: Something I Cannot Outrun

School has continually proven to be a big presence in my life each year. Every school

day, I wake up at 6:30 in the morning to prepare for school. At around 7:30 a.m., I leave to go to

school. Classes start at 8 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m., consisting of four classes each day. Because I

am in my junior year of high school, I am taking many rigorous classes, such as advanced

placement (AP) and honors. My seven classes consist of Precalc Honors, Campus Ministry, AP

U.S History, English 3 honors, AP Computer Science, Piano, and lastly, Human Geography

(college level class). Five out of seven of my classes are weighted, which means that a letter

grade is added a numerical advantage when calculating grade point average. After a long day of

school, I usually get home around 3 p.m. Once I get home from school, I do not always start my

homework immediately. Before you make the conclusion that I do this because I am

procrastinating, my schedule consists of many other activities after school. To me it seems nearly

impossible to start homework right when I get home after waking up at 6:30 a.m. and after a six

plus hour school day. Like many other students, I am a student athlete. I have practice four times

a week at six-thirty p.m. to eight p.m., all the way in Mission Bay. I usually do not get home

until eight-forty p.m. from my practice.

Once I get home from practice, I eat dinner quickly then immediately begin doing my

homework. Many of my homework assignments usually consists of online math problems,

Cornell notes, practice AP responses, annotating articles/stories, just to name a few. I cannot give
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an exact amount of hours I spend on homework each night, but I usually have three hours of

homework minimum. There are some nights where I feel like I won’t finish my homework on

time, and I begin to debate whether I should just miss school the next day to finish my

homework. I know that if I miss school the next day, I will just be more behind in my classes. I

won’t only need to learn the lessons from the class I missed, but I would also need to finish the

homework assigned for the day I missed. Thus, I sacrifice my sleep schedule, just so I can finish

my homework and maintain good grades.

Over the past decades, there has been a lot of controversy about whether homework is

truly beneficial for students. For many students, homework has proven to be harmful to their

mental health, as it adds a number of stress and anxiety (“Is Homework Beneficial?”). Schools

should reduce the amount of homework assigned each night to help improve a student’s mental

health and allow them more time for hobbies.

Students mental health have constantly been suffering, due to the amount of homework

assigned each night. Studies have showed that high school students that have five teachers can

have around 17.5 hours of homework per week (“Students Spend More Time on Homework but

Teachers Say It's Worth It.”). Many high school students schedules consists of six or more

classes. Based on the previous quote, many students can have around 17.5 or more hours of

homework each week, which will add more stress to the student. According to a study conducted

by Stanford University, “56 percent of students considered homework a primary source of stress”

(“Infographic: How Does Homework Actually Affect Students?”). In addition to adding stress

onto students, homework also affects their sleep schedule. For example, the National Sleep

Foundation tells of how students need around 9 and 9 ½ hours of sleep per night. However,

studies showed how only 15% of teens get eight and a half hours of sleep per night (“Sleep for
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Teenagers”). Students constantly sacrifice their own sleep schedule, just to complete all their

homework assigned. Thus, a student’s mental health is constantly deteriorating, due to the

numerous hours of homework they need to complete. Homework not only promotes less sleep

for teens, but it also crowds out their extracurriculars.

Homework constantly cries out for mental strength and time, that it gives teenagers little

to no time for social experiences. Many teenagers have to cancel plans due to homework.

According to the Science Leadership Academy at Philadelphia, “16 out of 19 of the students in

Fire Stream agreed that homework adds extra stress onto them or takes time away from other

things that they’re encouraged to do, such as sports, extra classes, extracurricular activities,

family time, etc” (Hood). The majority of this class at the Science Leadership Academy at

Philadelphia agrees that homework takes time away from hobbies and family. Many students

find it hard to make time for loved ones or sports, while still having to do an overwhelming

amount of homework. Thus, homework schools should reduce the amount of homework assigned

each night to allow students more time for extracurriculars.

Some may say that many teenagers spend more time than is necessary on homework

because they are distracted by social media sites. Though students may at times get distracted

through the use of social media, many students overall find homework boring and wonder if

homework truly is beneficial. However, Shawna Bu Shell, professor at Rowan University, tells

how integrating social media in the classroom can prove to be beneficial. Bu Shell tells of how

her “research shows students are not distracted if homework is designed well.” She adds that, “If

a teacher is good at designing homework and willing to integrate social media, then students

won’t be sneaking, trying to use it” (Dunn). Bu Shell is not trying to constantly blame the

teachers for the distraction of students during homework time, but rather have the curriculum of
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school districts changed to make homework less boring and more engaging. With homework that

is more engaging, there is less likely to be distractions.

How can one help lower the amount of homework to help the mental stability of a

student? One can start by communicating with the school about the amount of homework

students receive or talk to teachers about concerns they may have. Additionally, schools should

fix their policies for homework immediately for the better of a student’s mental health. Though

there are currently no studies showing that communicating with the school and schools fixing

their homework policies to improve a student’s mental health have been done, change still needs

to start somewhere. In reality, a student’s mental health is more important than having them

complete hours of homework each night.

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Works Cited

Dunn, Phil, and N.J.) Courier-Post. “Students Say Social Media Interfere with Homework.” USA

Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 15 Jan. 2013,

www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/15/students-social-media-homework-

distraction/1835461/.

Hood, Julia. “Homework or Personal Lives?” Science Leadership Academy @ Center City,

scienceleadership.org/blog/homework_or_personal_lives.

“Infographic: How Does Homework Actually Affect Students?” Oxford Learning, 16 June 2017,

www.oxfordlearning.com/how-does-homework-affect-students/.

“Is Homework Beneficial? - Top 3 Pros and Cons.” ProConorg Headlines,

www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005411.

“Sleep for Teenagers.” National Sleep Foundation, www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/teens-and-

sleep.

“Students Spend More Time on Homework but Teachers Say It's Worth It.” U.S. News & World

Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/02/27/students-

spend-more-time-on-homework-but-teachers-say-its-worth-it.