Staff Writer
Recent studies have shown that copious amounts of homework are creating an alarming level of stress in students’ lives and are actually affecting their health. In a specific study, three hours was the average amount of time spent on homework assignments. In some cases, the load was up to five hours of work. After examining the relationship between student well-being and homework load, the study showed that 56% of students listed homework as their main source of stress. Denise Pope, senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, stated, “We realized that we need intervention around homework. While the present study was conducted with high schoolers, we have the same data from the younger years.” A clear connection was made between student stress and physical impact. Migraines, ulcers, sleep deprivation, and weight loss were observed as a result from stress in students’ lives.
 |
| Homework stress |
Many students feel that homework
should solely be used as a way to reinforce what they’ve learned in class.
Sophomore Abby Seate said, “Homework can take hours out of our day and most of
the time it’s just busy work that doesn’t relate to the current lesson we’re
learning in class.” On the other hand, sophomore Ariel Styles said, “I
personally don’t have much homework right now. It really depends on the class.
However, when I did have harder classes I was really stressed from homework.” Having
too much work is proving to overwhelm students, therefore causing them to
disengage from school. Apex High English teacher Nicolette Filson argues that a
decent amount of homework can be good for students as long as it doesn’t go too
far. She said, “I think giving meaningful homework is important because it
helps the student learn independently. Struggling with learning can be a good thing.”
As long as teachers hand out a modest amount of work that is relevant to what
they’re learning, students will not be nearly as overwhelmed.
According to an NPR poll conducted
with the Robert Johnson Foundation, almost 40% of parents say that their child
is experiencing a lot of stress from school, with 24% saying that homework is a
major issue. Stress from homework is an increasingly difficult problem for
students now, and schools should carefully take this into consideration.
