You may have read the title and already scoffed at this article. After all, aren’t I just another kid complaining about having responsibility? Well, I actually don’t have much of a problem with homework as a whole. In fact, I think it can actually be really helpful. It can give kids time to review the things that were taught and get help from people outside of school, such as her parents. Homework in general isn’t the problem, it’s the amount of it that is assigned. middle school and migh school students are often given an absurd amount of homework, but do teachers and parents really know the true impacts of this immense workload? I believe that teachers in middle school and high school should assign less homework.

First, large amounts of homework are one of the main causes of stress in middle school and high school students. Stress, as you probably know already, isn’t very good for both your physical and mental health. It can cause low energy, headaches, nausea, aches and tense muscles, chest pain, insomnia, and frequent colds and infections. It also causes you to have an inability to focus, forgetfulness, and disorganization. Obviously, it is best to avoid stress at all costs, and less homework would help students have a much less stressful life.

Second, not every student has the time in their day to complete all of the homework they were assigned. Many students have extracurriculars after school such as band, choir, and sports, that take up a lot of their after school time. On top of that, there are also a lot of things that we have to do at home such as chores or taking care of younger family members. Sure, student life might not be as busy compared to some adults, but with the amount of homework that is assigned, we don’t have as much free time as you might think.

Finally, completing homework during the late hours of the night leaves less time for sleep. In an attempt to fit homework into their schedule, many students will find themselves staying up much longer than is healthy. Doctors recommend getting at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night, and even more if you are an infant or teenager. However, the average student only gets about 6 hours of sleep a night, if they are lucky. Sometimes, big assignments will leave students staying up past midnight, which is even worse. Lack of sleep makes them unable to focus during the lessons the next day, and overall damages their ability to learn. Assigning less homework would allow students to have a much better learning experience.

As you can see, the current amounts of homework can cause stress, lack of time for other important things, and a damaged learning experience. In order to fix these problems, middle school and high school teachers should assign the students less homework.