Problems with Homework

One of the most talked about topics among students and teachers is homework. Homework does have benefits, but it comes with more problems. The constant struggle for students every day trying to balance free time, sports, and school is sometimes impossible. Students need to have free time. Free time serves as a moment to mentally regroup, which is healthy for a student's growing and developing brain.

In a study conducted by Denise Pope at Stanford, 56% of students surveyed found homework to be their primary source of stress, along with tests and trying to keep up good grades. Something that was specially noted was that less than 1% of those surveyed said that homework did not stress them out at all. The effects of stress on the body include breathing problems, muscle tension, nausea, or high blood pressure.  She also discovered through her survey that students are experiencing health problems. “We found a clear connection between the students’ stress and physical impacts – migraines, ulcers and other stomach problems, sleep deprivation and exhaustion, and weight loss,” Pope said. Aside from physical health, homework takes a toll emotionally too. The pressure from trying so hard to keeping good grades and not being able to do it sets up students to view themselves as failures. The pressure to impress friends and family sometimes brings the student into depression or gives them severe cases of anxiety. “They feel out of control,” Pope said. “They often have no idea when a teacher will assign what. They can’t plan around Grandma’s birthday dinner, and it’s really not their fault.”



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Overloads of homework don't just affect the student either; it affects the entire family and their friends. Parents fell responsible to make sure their child does their homework. Some even say that their child's homework feels like a second job. This can lead to arguments between the family and destroy personal relationships between them. Along with arguments, there is no time with the amount of homework typical students receives to bond with their family. The time that students can spend with their families is crucial for the development of social skills and creating interests.

"Very simply, too much of anything can be harmful," says Gerald LeTendre. LeTendre states that homework causes loss of motivation and creativity in students. He also explains that homework is improperly assigned and reviewed by teachers which cause the student to be hopelessly lost. Teachers hand out the same assignment to every child instead of personalizing the assignments to help students where they are struggling. He finishes by saying, "That kind of [individualized] homework is exemplary and you don't see it very much." There is a solution to fixing the corrupt homework system.

In summary, homework is given out incorrectly, causes emotional weaknesses in students, and physical health problems. Too much is useless from what many studies have researched. Homework occupies the lives of students, preventing them from being themselves. It's no longer about learning being fun, it's just busywork. In fact, if homework were a prescription drug, the FDA would long ago have demanded its recall.