Against Homework

By Daze Williams

Education is very important– well, at least that’s what I’ve always been told, which I do not disagree with. It is always important to learn as much as you can at a young age, but I do believe that smothering students with assignments can be overwhelming. An American survey found that more than 70% of students are typically stressed about their homework. I have the right to speak on this topic because I’m a student too, so I know what it feels like to be overwhelmed with work. As a senior, doing online learning could be difficult at times, but I can say it has gotten easier than it was before; because I’ve adjusted. However, when teachers tend to assign multiple assignments, within a small deadline, it causes unhealthy levels of stress for students. Extra assignments, in general, can lead to sleep deprivation and other health problems. I feel like teachers don’t really consider the other things that’s going on in our lives, as students and as people, especially in this COVID-19 pandemic as it’s not as easy– like before– to learn content when we were at school in-person. Nonetheless, homework, at this time, is a burden on students. Students require time to rest and time for ourselves, putting our minds off of things like school work. We deal with so many other things within a single day– well, at least I know I do– the point is bombarding kids with homework will only make them feel burnt out– if not already. Heavy loads of homework, once again, will only have a negative effect on students’ performance. I say that because, as a student, let’s say you’re trying to get caught up on the school work you’re behind in, due it being so much, while at the same time paying attention in class while learning new content everyday. You’re learning new content while still trying to understand the old material. Not only are you at a point where you are stressed and feeling anxiety, because you feel like you’re never going to catch up, but you’re slowly reaching a threshold of giving up and/or burning out. Homework doesn’t do anything but make things harder, students need time to take their minds off school work and their own life issues. While some may find homework useful, at this moment, in this time, homework is simply another obstacle keeping students from their own personal lives. Nevertheless, the more work, the less time you have for studying, which then leads to failure in class and/or exams.