Homework Overload?

As class gets back in session, dispute is heating up once again over how students should spend their time after they are dismissed by the bell. Words fly as two opposing sides make their claim as to why they believe school work should be brought home or stay at school.

Many people will regard homework as doing more harm than good by adding tremendous amounts of unnecessary stress to everyone; Others will argue that it has multiple advantages for students by encouraging them to think more independently outside of the classroom. Doing homework helps students develop a sense for time management; by being assigned work one day and knowing it’s due the next will help the student learn to plan out their time.

“It is very stressful to cram in all that work that you know is due tomorrow, but it is helping us learn to manage our agenda and prepare us for the future.” says senior, Sam Pflug.

Homework is not meant to be seen as punishment, but to help review and practice what has been covered in school.

“Nothing new is learned when I do homework, but it is good review practice for the day to come.” explains junior, Joseph Barnes. Students will be doing projects/homework even in their adult lives. The more students learn, the more willing they may be to challenge the idea that homework has to be a part of schooling.

For every side that is pro homework there are always people that are against the fact that work should be brought home. Many propose that homework is too stressful and takes away a lot of the at home free time that students have.

“We go to school to do work for seven hours a day, we should not be sent home to do more school work. Our teachers need to understand that we have eight classes a day not just one,” stated Olivia Castillo, junior at Fruita Monument. She also explained that she works right after school, which most students can relate to and that she is up every night doing homework. This adds countless amounts of stress and lack of sleep. Many kids have important activities after school, whether it’s helping out family, working, or sports, it is hard to find time for homework.Overall this leads to the student falling behind in classes and getting bad grades. Mr. Carlson, an AP Statistics teacher, believes that homework should be done in the classroom with all of the time provided in the class.

“The school day is too long to be able not to get your homework done,” he states, “ but it depends on the student whether or not they are willing to doing homework or not.” He explains his belief that homework is a bit much, especially when other teachers give it out in their class as well.Barnes says that it takes his external life away, because he gets placed in his room doing homework. Every so often, he is not able to talk to his parents due to the amounts of stress the homework is putting on him.

“Sometimes, I feel like homework pushes me away from my friends and family, it’s very stressful and takes away the time for the important things.” Unfortunately, this remedy may be doing students more harm than good, and could lead to depression, causing grades to deteriorate along with their social life.

Like any good debate, both sides have good potential of tilting the axis towards their part of the argument. But that’s just it, which one, pro homework or against it? This discussion has been going on for decades and there seems to be no credible winner. One thing for sure is that this deliberation will not be disremembered and will carry on to be disputed for the decades to come.

Picture Credit: SNO