Do Teachers Assign Too Much Homework?

This is an amusing question to ask a student enrolled at Uni High, because most of my peers (including myself) would say yes. However, there is another inquiry prompted by this question: is the homework we complete truly helping us to learn?

               Point Loma Nazarene University estimates that around 50% of educators still assign homework. Some parents are actually uncomfortable with a lack of homework, due to the fact that homework helps solidify work already taught in the classroom. Parents also argue that homework teaches students time management and organization, skills that will be necessary for a successful career later on. Point Loma also brings up an interesting take on the amount of homework time per grade that will cause better results in the classroom without overwhelming the students: the 10 minute rule. The 10 minute rule states that the grade the student currently occupies multiplied by 10 should be the estimated homework time in minutes each night (e.g. for us it would be an hour and a half a night). Homework that is poorly created and overly tedious can also give the illusion of too much homework, due to the fact that it sucks up time if the student is completing a boring or tiring assignment, as Point Loma states: “However, homework can become overwhelming when a teacher hasn’t put the time into creating meaningful assignments that can be completed in a reasonable amount of time. Thus the feeling of 'too much homework' is often conflated with poorly constructed homework” (Should Teachers Still Give Homework?).

Stanford University discovered that 56% of the students they surveyed considered homework a primary source of stress. In Stanford’s open-ended questions, students reported their homework led to sleep deprivation and additional health concerns. Some of these health issues included “headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss, and stomach problems” (Stanford Research Shows Pitfalls of Homework). Because the amount of time that average college students spend doing homework has become excessive, the survey data indicated that the students were not developing other necessary life skills, and were more likely to drop activities, not see loved ones, or stop pursuing once-enjoyed hobbies. According to the data, students feel obligated to complete their homework as opposed to enjoying extracurricular or social time. The researchers also concluded young people are consistently spending more and more time alone due to their homework loads. Furthermore, I think a lot of teachers overlook how vital extracurriculars are for a student’s development. Sports and other physical extracurriculars have both mental and physical benefits. The arts provide an outlet for students to express themselves and be creative in ways that typical academic courses don’t offer. 

               Finally, using the research gathered, I want to discuss the homework load at Uni High. To some degree, it is understandable for students here to have more homework than students at a traditional high school because Uni is supposed to be more academically challenging. That being said, there is a point at which homework becomes much more hurtful than helpful for the education of the students. First, one core value of homework is that it teaches students how to manage their time and organize their schedules. Therefore, when teachers assign large projects or papers in a short period of time, it can be very frustrating to the students who have spent time adequately planning out their schedules; such careless last-minute assignments make well-organized students more likely to give up trying to manage their time in the future since their extra effort does not reduce the overall chaos and stress of their homework load. Therefore, teachers need to stay on schedule and frequently communicate due dates to prevent confusion; moreover, teachers should try to assign a consistent homework load instead of assigning nothing one day and and then everything the next. Secondly, there is simply too much work between all the classes combined at Uni. Teachers need to remember that their subject is not the only class the student is putting work into and schedule accordingly. This task may seem a bit difficult for teachers to do–but all they have to do is ask. It is the educator’s job to look after the students, and perhaps before assigning a large test, teachers could ask the students what else they have to do that week. Obviously, this step can’t be done all the time–but once in a while it would be beneficial for the teachers to inquire about the students’ workload. Thirdly, extensions are often suggested as an option when students are falling behind. However, extensions can actually result in a student falling much farther behind on the next topic if the student is stuck finishing a problem from the last unit–making it difficult to break the cycle if students continue to lag behind their peers.  Fourthly, it is incredibly difficult to participate in extracurriculars at Uni High due to the intense homework load. Speaking from experience, travel to and from away soccer and volleyball games often consumes hours, and without wifi, student athletes have very little available work time; it is hard to enjoy the sport when constantly worrying about how much one still has to do. Similarly, tech week in theater is also a stressful time that teachers do not seem to account for. It is easy to argue that the teachers don’t know when certain games or performances are happening–but again–they only need to ask the students. The amount of homework scares some Uni students away from participating in after-school activities and truly enjoying their highschool experience. Fifthly, Uni’s homework load deeply affects students’ mental health and overall well being. Too much homework can make the students feel as though they are drowning or helpless, and failure to complete their homework in time can give students the idea they are “not enough” or that they are “behind.” Stress can affect sleep levels, and too much homework causes students to stay up late trying to finish everything, causing them to be more tired during classes the next day (where they won’t learn as much, backfiring on homework’s purpose in general). Finally, excessive amounts of homework can pressure students to the point where they feel they must use AI like ChatGPT to complete papers or cheat on tests because there simply is not enough time to complete everything (which again, hinders their performance in the classroom and they don’t learn from the paper or test they were assigned).

               In conclusion, homework is necessary for a student’s development. But too much is too much, and the effects of too much homework can negatively affect a student. Uni High is a wonderful high school environment where all of the students share a drive to be successful–but sometimes the teachers abuse that drive by assigning too much homework they know the students will complete anyway for fear of failure. The Uni high school experience is a very unique one–but it's important for students to still be teenagers and have time to do things they love.

Works Cited

“Should Teachers Still Give Homework?” Point Loma Nazarene University,

        www.pointloma.edu/resources/education/should-teachers-still-give-homework. 

“Stanford Research Shows Pitfalls of Homework.” Stanford Report,

        news.stanford.edu/stories/2014/03/too-much-homework-031014.