Homework. Is it really necessary for students? Too much homework is bad for the kids because it stresses them out more than needed and it’s different from student to student. I look around and see students who are so stressed just because of the amount of homework they have to take home. I don’t think teachers should be giving their student so much homework. In some cases, homework doesn’t really help if the student doesn’t understand the lesson.

In an article in the New York Times it states, “For decades, the homework standard has been a “10 minute rule,” which recommends a daily maximum of of homework per grade level.” So, by the time students are seniors, they should be doing about two hours of homework each night. Students in lower grades shouldn’t be given so much homework because it could be too hard for them.

There are kids who like to spend time with their family more often but can’t because they are too busy doing their homework. Some kids don’t do well in school so having so much homework to do when they get home just stresses them out even more. If kids are really stressed, it may be harder for them to learn and do well in school. It is proven that homework can help students learn because it is practice for what they are learning. It just depends on if the homework is too hard or not hard enough.

It has to be right for the student in order for it to help. The students also need help from the teacher and if they don’t give feedback to the student after making the same mistake, it won’t benefit the student. Also, if the homework just isn’t designed well, then it also won’t help the student.

“It depends on the quality of the homework – and how intentional teachers are about giving homework” said Jonathan Chein who wrote “How much homework is too much?” article.

Also, in the New York Times, it has a quote from Kelly Elementary school’s principal, Jackie Glasheen, she said “we really want kids to go home at 4 o’clock, tired. We want their brain to be tired. We want them to enjoy their families. we want them to go to soccer practice or football practice, and we want the to go to bed. And that’s it.” So, most of the work should at least be done in school, if possible, so it’s less time at home to do homework and so that the kids can have a life outside of school. Some students stress about not having a lot of time with their family because they have a lot of homework on top of working so they don’t get much free time to spend with family.

“Some studies he (Cooper) examined showed that homework can cause physical and emotional fatigue, fuel negative attitude about learning and limit leisure time for children.” said in the New York Times. There are bad things to homework, not all of it is good. Teachers and administration should take that into consideration. They should see that not all students do well with homework. So, homework should be good for the good of the whole.

Homework can help students with tests and quizzes but not everyone aren’t great test takers. So, they can do all the homework to help prepare themselves but still not do as good as they could have. It just depends on the student. A lot of students stress over trying to get good grades and feel as if the school puts a lot of pressure on students to succeed which also really stresses them out.

How much homework students get varies from school to school and from class to class. There are classes that don’t give much homework and classes that gives a lot of homework. I seem to do better with the classes that don’t give out much homework because I’m not stressed all the time and I can focus better. More classes should be like that. Homework does help students, just not when it’s so much. People do better when they aren’t under so much pressure and stress. But, they know, in order to succeed in a class and school overall, they have to do the homework that is given to them so they can try to understand when it comes to the tests and quizzes.

Homework does help with students learning, help students work harder, and help with their attitude because they get used to working and build up the motivation to work hard. But it doesn’t just come that easy to all students. Every student is different so, some have to work extra hard in order to understand what they are learning and understand what is on the homework. Some students can study for a long time but blank when they get to the test so, teachers need to make sure that they help the student prepare themselves better so they can pass the test or the quiz. In the end, it’s all about how the student learns and how the teacher teaches because the environment as well needs to be a comfortable and safe place to learn. The students should feel safe and they should feel comfortable with their teacher so they can ask questions without being scared or uncomfortable.

People’s opinions vary as well but I just hate seeing many people crying or not getting the sleep the need just because of homework. The AP classes give a lot of homework. Like AP US History, there’s a lot of paper handouts, you have a reading assignment every night and there’s just a lot to take in and comprehend. Teachers need to make sure that the homework that they give out will actually help the students. There are students who can handle a lot of homework but the teacher as the consider that not all students can handle it so they have to think about what homework will help the class as a whole so they can succeed.