Should Students Get Less Homework Essay

As a junior in High School, the possibilities are endless when it comes to being involved in events outside of the classroom. However, after coming home from school, finishing piles of homework, and grabbing a bite to eat, I find little time for any other activities. By missing out on these out of the classroom experiences, I am not becoming familiar with the real world or learning valuable lessons outside of education, and it is not shaping me into the most well rounded person. Since many fall into the same boat of feeling weighed down by school, students should receive less homework for benefits including, more time for other activities, less stress, and higher quality work. The main reason students should receive less homework is it allows …show more content…
Stress is inflicted by the pressure from teachers and parents to finish the excessive amounts of homework every night, especially if the student is involved in extracurricular activities. According to Johns Hopkins School of Education (2005), stress has a major mental and physical effect on children, taking a toll on one 's mental abilities by increasing depression, sleep loss, and never providing the mind a chance to rest and regroup. (Tennant, 2005) These are all important factors, especially when concentrating on education due to the fact that they harm focus and impair the ability to learn new material. The physical effects of stress on students include sleep disturbances (nightmares and bedwetting), skin diseases, and infections. Also, “research suggests that even physical conditions with a genetic basis—like asthma, allergies, and diabetes—can be adversely affected by childhood stress" (Tennant, 2005), and all of these factors can be reduced if teachers were to limit the amount of homework given. Many say the body is like a computer; with too many programs open, the processing and functionality can be affected. Similarly, when there is too much on a student 's plate, he will become overwhelmed and unable to think or function properly, affecting his overall focus and learning abilities. Also, the body, like a computer, demands rebooting and sleep. If a computer system is not …show more content…
It deprives me from experiences and lessons only the outside world can teach, and much of the after school work is unnecessary. Reasons why teachers should reduce the amount of homework given include, more time for other activities, less stress on students, and higher quality work. All of these factors hurt me as well as other students suffering from countless hours of homework every night, proving that hours of homework do more harm than