Homework: How Much?

By Olivia Kavidias

Homework: The eight letter word that rules students’ lives daily, forcing them to unwillingly complete extra work from all of their classes, taking them from one to seven hours of their own free time. You could think of it this way, or you could think of homework as the concept that helps students review and study the material they learned in their classes, helping them become responsible and successful in school. The truth is students at Glenelg High School see it both ways.

Homework is a guarantee at any school you go to. School and homework are a package, and whether students like it or not, it’s here to stay. But when does the educational system cross the line? Sierra Suarez, a Glenelg Sophomore, shares her opinion on homework, saying she doesn’t necessarily enjoy doing it, but finds that it helps her in the long run, “especially when studying for tests.” Even though she spends about three hours on it everyday, her feelings toward homework are neutral, and she believes it helps her in more ways than academically. The Department of Education released a statement about homework, stating spending time on homework not only increases students’ enjoyment of subjects, but is also behavioral related, making the environment of school and attitude towards hard work more positive.

Although some say homework is beneficial to learning despite the countless hours spent on it, others disagree, including the Professor of Education and Psychology at Duke University, Harris Cooper. He shares that middle school students should spend no more than 90 minutes on homework, and that high schools should limit the time to two hours at the maximum, since the brain loses attentiveness and precision after seven hours at school, and two hours after. In fact, research shows that homework has nearly no impact on a student’s performance, because there is no interaction with teachers, and is repeating the material learned in class.
Homework is stressful nonetheless, and students are becoming more and more stressed to the breaking point, as many of these students have shown. The point of homework is to help students understand and practice material the teacher has taught, to prepare the student for the future, and to teach responsibility. But when it cuts deep into your own time, leaving little time for family, extracurriculars, and a social life…how much is too much?