You’ve just returned home from your seven-hour school day, potentially on top of an afterschool activity, sport or job. When you go to lay down after showering, eating and getting ready for bed, your backpack stares at you. It’s now 10 p.m. and you’ve only gotten through homework for two out of five classes.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that teenagers ages 13-18 should sleep eight to ten hours each night. When students are completing time-consuming assignments until 11 p.m., it can become impossible to acquire those eight hours before having to be in school and ready to learn at 7:20 a.m the next day.
The student handbook specifically states under the homework section that “Students can expect 25-30 minutes of homework each night per course.”
Certain honors and advanced placement classes are absolutely expected to have more homework, and students should be aware of that before enrolling in those high-level classes. Students in college prep classes, on the other hand, should not be expected to complete over 30 minutes of homework per class.
Many teachers believe that homework is essential to preparing for tests, as students will get a better understanding of the material with extra practice. While this is a valid point, the assignments can be too much.
Students can show their understanding of a topic by answering three problems, they don’t need to do 50 more. If a student doesn’t understand it, they aren’t going to go home and magically be able to figure it out.
Some teachers expect students to complete hours of busy work that they assign to build endurance. These assignments can include extra reading, long repetitive packets and writing words/sentences over and over. After sitting in a chair for six hours, homework should only be a bit of extra practice that benefits students.
I am aware that not every teacher assigns a worksheet each night. There are teachers who understand the struggles of a high school student and are flexible with homework assignments.
However, there are also many teachers who don’t and won’t allow excuses, even when there is a valid reason for incomplete work. Structure and consistency are important characteristics for a teacher to have. But they also need to possess flexibility and understanding to help nurture their students, allowing them to grow, not only inside the classroom, but outside as well.
Some assignments have concepts that weren’t gone over in class. After looking over notes, attempting to figure it out multiple times and asking your friends and family for help, students tend to give up or turn to AI, causing their grades to drop and not fully taking in the material themselves.
Some resolutions to this problem are enforcing the 30-minute rule. If a student doesn’t finish their homework in 30 minutes, they shouldn’t be marked down as a zero. While teachers implement rules about phones, communication with friends and work completion, they should respect the 25-30 minute rule for students.
Instead, students should receive partial or full credit for attempting for 30 minutes. Although students could lie, there could be genuine reasons for the assignment not being completed. Some students have problems at home, jobs, sports and other activities. Don’t immediately assume they are being lazy.
Another solution is allowing students another day for the assignment. Although for the teacher, it may be a nightmare to manage who needs what when, so students could advocate for themselves when needed.
If a student can explain a valid reason for the homework not being completed, teachers should allow students an extra day to complete it. If they don’t use the time given and abuse their privilege, then it can become a different discussion.
A seven hour school day turns into a ten hour school day, allowing for students to become stressed, sleep deprived and disengaged in class. This cycle repeats five days a week, sometimes even cutting into weekends. If homework was moderated, these unhealthy habits can be prevented.
