The buzz of the school bell followed by an intense rush of students sprinting down the hallway and out of the school gates as if someone had pulled the plug under a humongous whirlpool. Most people would think that the craziness and frantic writing of tests would be over after school. But is the enervating part of the day really finished; or is it the start of another evening filled with mountains of monotonous, exhausting homework.
According to technology.com, homework has its pros and cons. First of all, it can allow families to become closer together as students may ask a sibling or a parent for help, not only does it do this but can also lead to parents unearthing more about their child's school life. Also it can help students become more principled as it takes a lot of responsibility to remember to turn in your homework and finish projects by certain deadlines.
But homework isn’t exactly the best thing in the world. There are quite a few facts on how doing homework can negatively affect your lifestyle. For example, if a student is given too much homework, he might be extremely stressed out and won’t have enough time to spend with their families, friends etc. Furthermore, too much homework can encourage students to cheat on assignments as students end up copying from one another to finish homework. What’s the point of doing homework if you’re not learning anything? So the main question is, are grade 8 UWCSEA East students currently doing too little or too much homework in order to lead a balanced lifestyle.
According to the students of grade 8 class, 8JRa, more than 50% of students do more than 10 hours of homework per week and 78% of students are stressed because of homework. The UWCSEA homework policy states that only 7 hours of homework should be done for a grade 8 student per week so how should this problem be solved. “I do get stressed when I have homework to do, especially when I’m stacked with papers ,” says Youngchan Lee,”But I do admit that I sometimes get distracted while doing homework and because of this, I end up staring at my computer wondering how in the world will I ever finish my math homework.”
Maybe the real answer lies in how students do work these days, is the real problem the constant visiting of that facebook page? Or is it the urge to chat online with someone about the latest tech release. Whatever it is, whether it’s the way that students do homework or the amount of homework teachers give right now, it’s eating away at the lives of students. Something needs to be fixed as currently, students are struggling to cope with the pressure and are being pushed to their breaking points.
According to technology.com, homework has its pros and cons. First of all, it can allow families to become closer together as students may ask a sibling or a parent for help, not only does it do this but can also lead to parents unearthing more about their child's school life. Also it can help students become more principled as it takes a lot of responsibility to remember to turn in your homework and finish projects by certain deadlines.
But homework isn’t exactly the best thing in the world. There are quite a few facts on how doing homework can negatively affect your lifestyle. For example, if a student is given too much homework, he might be extremely stressed out and won’t have enough time to spend with their families, friends etc. Furthermore, too much homework can encourage students to cheat on assignments as students end up copying from one another to finish homework. What’s the point of doing homework if you’re not learning anything? So the main question is, are grade 8 UWCSEA East students currently doing too little or too much homework in order to lead a balanced lifestyle.
According to the students of grade 8 class, 8JRa, more than 50% of students do more than 10 hours of homework per week and 78% of students are stressed because of homework. The UWCSEA homework policy states that only 7 hours of homework should be done for a grade 8 student per week so how should this problem be solved. “I do get stressed when I have homework to do, especially when I’m stacked with papers ,” says Youngchan Lee,”But I do admit that I sometimes get distracted while doing homework and because of this, I end up staring at my computer wondering how in the world will I ever finish my math homework.”
Maybe the real answer lies in how students do work these days, is the real problem the constant visiting of that facebook page? Or is it the urge to chat online with someone about the latest tech release. Whatever it is, whether it’s the way that students do homework or the amount of homework teachers give right now, it’s eating away at the lives of students. Something needs to be fixed as currently, students are struggling to cope with the pressure and are being pushed to their breaking points.
Written by Harit
I am an 8th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA. My students are new to Investigative Journalism. They read and have responded to various articles you have written. Although we are not ready to blog individually, I would like to share their response with you:
ReplyDeleteWe strongly agree with your topic Harit. We find that homework can be very stressful. When having a lot of homework, students feel as if they have limited free time, if they have any at all. Students spend 8 hours in school and it is excessive to spend 3 more hours to finish school work.
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ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with your views on the negative and positive aspects of homework, and think that sometimes the pressure of doing these assignments is so great that they stop helping students learn. In my school, many people cannot finish their homework, and end up spending their recess doing it instead of eating, or getting a break from school like they're supposed to be. Students are full of extra curricular activities, and they make students stay up until midnight trying to finish their homework after it, making their attention span in school the next day, a shorter one. Although I also think that sometimes, students waste time while doing homework, I think schools everywhere should stop sending as much homework as they do in order to help the students sleep better, and learn better. This would help them get the subjects they're being taught a lot more than the massive piles of homework they have to do would.
ReplyDeleteHey Harit,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. My school leaves us homework and a big amount of people don't finish it, including me. I have some extracurricular activities after school and when I get home about 6:30 I have to do my homework. Sometimes I am so tired I really don't do it or sometimes I have to stay up until night to do it which affects my sleep. I agree with the fact that homework doesn't help students because many students who struggle, for example lets say math homework, many students get stressed and the teacher is not there to help. This is my point of view and homework can sometimes affect students sleep, emotional state or even their health. Schools should not send homework in my opinion.