Students on campus find themselves with a lot on their plate as an overload of homework keeps piling up and affecting their grades. As we begin second semester, we reflect on our progress during the first semester. Reflecting on past homework brings up thoughts on what could have been done better and how we can change moving forward.  

While the objective of homework is to continue practicing a subject for better understanding while being out of school, teachers forget that with extracurricular activities and personal lives it may not always be a great idea to assign. From strain to feeling overwhelmed it all leads to how even though homework is an important part of education it, yet can have some downsides.

During a day of attending school and going through the normal routine of getting things done to then going home, all can be a huge weight on students. Junior Isabella Romero shares her experience with homework and how she balances it while having after school activities.

“I feel very lucky that my teachers don’t assign that much homework, but I believe that homework helps me do better in school because I tend to need more practice for my subjects. In order to balance homework, sports, and clubs I always make sure that whenever I have extra time during my week to get ahead of work,” Romero said.

Distinctly, those who have after school jobs to those who have responsibilities after school such as helping with younger siblings or extracurricular activities results in affecting them the most with both their physical and mental health.

In 2013, research conducted by Stanford University demonstrated that students from high-achieving communities experience stress, physical health problems, an imbalance in their lives, and alienation from society as a result of spending too much time on homework.

In the survey, researchers also asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems. The student’s short answer survey results showed that “a heavy homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems.” 

As some students may not have many responsibilities, homework may not be too much for them. Although it doesn’t cover the fact that it can yet take time away from doing simple activities that may boost their well-being and development.

Senior Gustavo Martinez shares his viewpoint on homework.

“When I get home from school I look usually forward to being able to just relax and do my daily workouts like I would, but there are times where I can’t since even after doing a lot at
school some teachers still give some extra work and they don’t really put in mind how it can be draining,” Martinez said.

Math teacher Elizabeth Chu conveys her opinion on the idea of homework.

“Yes, homework is necessary, especially for math, but too much homework is not good because it stresses people out so I think it should be the right amount and the right amount of time as well as you want to give enough but not too much,” she said.

Overall, it’s important to have teachers keep in mind how assigning a lot of homework can be draining to students especially all while having other classes that assign work as well.