The Answer To Homework

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.

Written by Harit 

The Prioritized Problem

She rubbed her eyes to try to wipe away tiredness. After cross country in the morning, school during the day and badminton training in the afternoon she was exhausted. The rate at which she was working told her that she had solved 2 math problems/hour. “I’ll just do this later” She said and she hit the hay after setting her alarm for 5:30 in the morning. “After school activities take up so much of time, some days the homework is okay, but somedays i’m buried underneath homework” Says Lizzie.

Almost every 3 in 5 teens procrastinate while doing their homework. This contributes to stress and in some cases might affect their health. Not having a stable sleep cycle might cause teens to have a short attention span and might cause depression over time.

Imagine a day as a weighing scale. People should try to make their activities, passions and priorities all equally balanced on this scale. “I would usually go on tumblr, check my mail and text a few people before I get down to doing homework” Says UWC student Aditi Rudra. Having a routine or a timetable of things you are aiming to accomplish will help you to find balance. Listening to music, drinking tea, taking breaks by looking outside are all strategies you could use to help reduce stress, test anxiety and will keep you relaxed.

Sleeping and being relaxed actually has quite a large impact on people. According to http://www.coco-mat.com/?i=coco_fr.en.reasons , Sleeping can help with:

• keeping your heart healthy
• Reducing stress
• helps you concentrate & help you evaluate better
• helps you boost memory
• helps your body replenish and lose weight. 

“My grade 8 goal was to try sleeping earlier, for the first few weeks i could easily aim and shoot for this goal. I felt more energized by following my goal and I also could get more work done. But, at week four I was finding it hard to keep up and i ended up missing my goal most of the time” says UWCSEA student Akanksha Shukla.

She needed 3 consecutive alarms to wake up the next morning. She rubbed her eyes to try to wipe away tiredness. 6:40. she still needed to finish homework. she still needed to take a shower. she still needed to eat her cereal. she still needed to wear her shoes. Finally she was able to catch up with the bus and get to school in time.

Rethinking over your day to balance your weighing scale will help you lead a healthier lifestyle and relief lots of stress. All simply done by being an effective prioritizing procrastinator.

Written by Manini

Support in Sports

Music could be heard loudly playing from the new Singapore OCBC Swimming Arena, where the Swim Starts competition was taking place, last Friday night. Everyone was exhilarated as the UWC East swim team took their seats in a group on the east side. The audience buzzed with anticipation, eager for the action to start.

World champions, Olympians, World Record holders - they were all lined up, ready for their races. Kicked off with the men’s 100 freestyle event, the night was off to an exciting start. With the promising amount of $10,000 cash prize for 1st place, maximum effort was put into their performances, keeping the crowd cheering on their feet. Whoops and shouts were heard from the audience, the cameras occasionally flicking over to film groups, playing it on the large screens.

A group of swimmers from UWC East crowded the empty platform about the swimmers’ exit. Waving their hands and leaning over the railing, they were able to get high-5s and autographs. Completely in awe by the sport celebrities in front of them, they cheered and shouted, unable to properly process their surroundings.

The night came to an end as all the participating swimmers slowly walked around the pool, back to their exits, waving and smiling at the crowds of screaming fans. With the music and cheers fading, the night neared it’s end.

As the audience dispersed and left the arena sticky and sweaty, like most of the other viewers who also got autographs and handshakes, this reporter was unable to stop smiling or squealing for the rest of the night.

However, as great as the night had seemed to all the aspiring swimmers, some of the spectators were not impressed. According to a parent of one of the UWC swimmers, the event was way overpriced and a waste of effort for themselves. Because of the lack of time - the event only lasted one night - there were not as many races as was expected, leaving a few viewers unsatisfied.

Some parents and friends are not as supportive, their attitudes can either rub off on their children, or make them even more determined to defy them. With lack of support, swimmers may find it harder improve, but some swimmers are able to motivate themselves off anger and bitterness, to prove a point to their parents and friends.

Sportsmen can burn out after a few grueling years, or continue and advance to becoming world famous. Support is an important part of any sport, and without it, swimmers are likely to quit after the pressure becomes too much. Families and friends should support any sports that their children do, and cheer them on, because without support, no one would be able to succeed in life.


Written by Kelly

Library or Room?

Every Monday to Friday, from 7pm to 9 pm, students at the boarding house who are in grade 7 to 11 have to go and have their study time at the library. It is a time for students to do their homework or review their lessons or tomorrow subjects.

Except for grade 12, they can study at their own rooms. Students at other grades always complain that it is unfair to let the other students go to the library and walk back to their own room. And let the grade 12 students stay in their room after dinner.

However, Marcel, one of the houseparent, explained that the reasons why they let the other grades except grade 12 to study at the library, because they are still little kids so it is better to let them study at the library so that they can pay attention to their study more than at their room. But is it a right decision?

There’s been a rumour from an anonymous student said that, “ I cannot dissipate on what I’m learning at the library. People always keep scolding at each other which is very loud and the house parents don’t even know about that because they are outside. We come to study at the library because it suppose to a quite place but it isn’t. So what is the purpose of being at the library?”

Because of this rumour, the house parents at the boarding house start to think about it over. And they decide to have an assembly after dinner time one evening. It is a vote council. Students have to raise their hand for their own favourite whether at the library or at their own rooms.

It’s about 70% of the students show their hands for their own room and about 30% show for study time at the library. One of a girl claimed strongly that, “ I cannot study at my own room. I always feel disturbed from people around me. Sometimes they do not have any homework so they spend their time make up or chat with their mother. I can concentrate more at the library. I don’t mind walking from my room to the library.”

Because of there are two different ideas and they are both good at both side. So the house parents have to discuss with the other and decide whether should they let the students study at the library or room or keep one houseparent in each room at the library. They still figure out about it. But what do you think, library or room?

Written by Khantey