OPINION

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By Tyler Brand

In today’s world, teenagers at schools around the country are overwhelmed with homework. The sheer volume of homework raises questions about its importance and underlying purpose. I, like many others, have always wondered about the true value of the homework being assigned and whether it’s needed at all. 

Historically, homework has served one primary purpose: to help students absorb the information from their classes. However, since its creation, it has been a highly debated topic. The first records of homework date back to the ancient Roman Empire. An orator named Pliny the Younger supposedly assigned work for his students to complete at home. He hoped this would help his students practice their speaking in a more comfortable and less stressful environment. Despite the early records of Pliny the Younger, Roberto Nevilis, an Italian school teacher from the early 20th century, is often mentioned as the creator of homework as we know it today.

The origins of modern-day homework can also be traced back to Horace Mann, an educational reformer in the 19th century. Mann admired the German practice of assigning children work to do at home, so after homework spread throughout Europe, Mann eventually ended up bringing the concept of homework back to America to implement into his educational reform policies. However, just a few decades following the introduction of homework in America, anti-homework sentiments spread, and California even banned homework. A few of decades later, homework was even said to be a form of child labor by the American Child Health Association. 

Stressed student working on a computer. Photo credit: Piqsels.

Although I understand that there is some value to homework, in excess, homework becomes less useful, and students experience decreasing marginal return. Daniel Johnsrud (‘23) said, “I think we should definitely have less homework, as I find myself completing my homework simply to get it done rather than to better understand what I am learning. I just go through the motions.” When students are given a surplus of homework, their stress levels are increased, as they are crunched for time to complete it all. A Stanford researcher’s study on ten upper middle class California schools discovered that 56% of students found homework as the primary stressor, and that it leads to a decrease in their amount of sleep, which negatively affects the students’ physical well-being. This increased stress also inevitably causes students to take shortcuts while completing their homework, which undermine its original intent.

Michael West (‘23) said, “I believe that students should not receive the amount of homework as we do, because having too much can overload the mind and lead to less educational growth… For a student body to grow academically and mature as individuals, they should not be forced to constantly work but rather be entrusted with the liberty to pursue their own goals as young adults.”  I wholeheartedly agree with both students’ about the overwhelming nature of large amounts of homework and its effects on students.

I find myself doing my three hours of homework each night simply for the sake of completing it rather than to learn anything. However, whenever I have less homework on any given night, closer to an hour and a half of homework, I am able to spend more time on each assignment. When this happens, I am able to take the time to better understand and reinforce the concepts learned in class. For example, on a typical night, I have roughly 30 minutes of homework in five of my six academic classes, in addition to studying for any assessments or writing any papers. That being said, on days where I don’t have as much or any homework in a few of my classes, it allows me to spend more time on the other assignments, as well as focus more heavily on studying for future assessments and writing more eloquent essays.

Upper School English teacher and Match advisor Vlastik Svab said, “Over my 15 years at Collegiate, I have generally given less and less homework each year. Since I teach English, reading at home, and working on essay drafts at home, are valuable activities for my students. But I have seen student stress levels generally go up over the years, so I keep that in mind when considering assignments. Collegiate students are asked to do many things over the course of a week.” Svab brings up a solid point about the effectiveness of assigning reading and writing outside of class for English; however, he still tries to make the workload manageable for students, as he understands the demanding schedule of the well-rounded student body at Collegiate.

Upper School Economics teacher Rob Wedge said, “I’m not always sure that volume is the issue. It’s the [assignment itself] that matters. For example, I don’t assign daily homework because I think we can do what we need to do, for the most part, in class, but I do [assign] quizzes on the weekend.That kind of assignment, that’s graded, is meaningful. I’m not opposed to homework or less homework, but at the end of the day, it needs to be better, meaningful homework that serves a purpose.” Although Wedge doesn’t directly believe that less homework would benefit students, he strongly believes that homework should serve a purpose beyond busy work. There is no point in assigning homework if it’s just to check off boxes, as that does not further student learning. It simply takes up more of their already limited time.

In addition to the benefits of less homework, students would also have more free time to pursue extracurriculars of interest. At Collegiate, we get plenty of opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities, and there is a two-season sports requirement in the Upper School. However, these activities lead to a significant decrease in time after school to complete homework, thus making homework less effective and day-to-day life less enjoyable. 

Some students have even more extreme views on homework, particularly at Collegiate, and they believe that we should not have homework at all. They argue that we attend school for seven hours a day, followed by two hours of after-school extracurriculars, before finally heading home and needing to complete three hours of homework before going to sleep. By the time you factor in eating dinner, catching up with family, and getting ready for bed, the amount of time in the day to do homework is very minimal. This causes the majority of teens to get less sleep, which affects their overall physical and mental health negatively. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) even advocates the importance of getting 8-10 hours of sleep every 24 hours for students of ages 13-18 years old. Students who do not meet this suggested amount are at a much higher risk of health problems such as diabetes, obesity, injuries, poor mental health, and problems with attention and behavior.

Given the research and opinions out there, it’s clear that homework provides less of an upside than a downside. Schools around the world should not completely eliminate homework, yet they should strive to assign less homework so as to have more well-rounded and healthier students.

Featured image credit: Piqsels.