Homework. It is a subject most students try to avoid thinking about. Whether it is because of the time consumption or the overall stress, many students around the United States dread homework. So, why do we even bother with it? Teachers and other authorities say in the long run it will better the students on academic levels but to what extent?

The idea of homework is to help students practice their class work by allowing them to have a guideline to complete and use when studying. For some students this practice makes perfect, but for the majority of us, it is just a whole bunch of stress put on our shoulders. Even students here at Apex have said it was not worth the struggle or their time. One of the reasons homework becomes too stressful for students is because they find it hard to make enough time for it. In a lot of circumstances, students with after school activities such as work, sports, or other commitments have trouble managing their time. These obligations take up a great deal of a student’s day after-school hours, and this forces the students to stay up late. These late nights not only affect the student’s grades but their performance in other areas as well

Teachers want their students to do homework for the sole purpose that they think it will help them do better in their classes, but other countries and even some states in the U.S have proved it is actually not worth it. This all depends on the class of course. Certain classes require more practice than others such as math, but even these classes do not need extreme amounts of homework. Some Apex High school students suggested homework to have weekly deadlines or just become optional. If small changes such as these were to be put into practice, it would most definitely increase the student’s grades and decrease their stress levels.

In countries with excelling education systems, such as Finland, they have lessened their students’ homework load. In doing so, their students became much happier. They also did not stop at homework. They completely rethought how their education systems works by decreasing the amount of tests and adding more projects. This change lets students feel less stressed and allows them to use more creativity. This is something the United States education system lacks.

Whether it be because of the time consumption or the stress, most of us can agree homework is too much of a hassle. This does not include studying of course but instead unfinished work form class time or worksheets handed out by your teacher. Do you think Apex High School should have homework? Post your opinion, or tweet us at @ahslegacy.