The first American school was founded in 1635, and matters have only gotten worse from then. Back in the 17th century, most students were probably concerned about bear attacks or the British. Nowadays, students have fears that are just as terrifying and nerve-wracking, such as failing a standardized test, or hoping the teacher doesn’t pick on them for no logical reason other than because the teacher knows they can get away with it. The anxiety created by such fears could be easily remedied by a complete reform in the American public education system. The average student’s well being could be greatly improved by removing standardized testing, monitoring teachers’ actions better, and limiting the amount of work that can be assigned. Standardized
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On average, it has been reported that students spend 3.2 hours per night on homework, which is far too much, especially since much of it is likely unnecessary. Modern teachers, primarily math teachers, are under the impression that if a certain type of problem or assignment is easy or takes little time, then they should assign more of it. It is buildup of these types of problems that leads to stress without actually benefitting the student much. According to an interview with Denise Pope, senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education, she states, “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 1). It is clear that students are being assigned too much homework, and actions need to be taken against that. For example, a policy could be enforced that, say, a Freshmen in Math 1 could only have up to 25 problems per night. The amount of problems would vary per class, and would be completely different per subject, as not all subjects have numbered problems and whatnot. By taking actions like these, the average students’ stress level could be drastically decreased, with very little
On average, it has been reported that students spend 3.2 hours per night on homework, which is far too much, especially since much of it is likely unnecessary. Modern teachers, primarily math teachers, are under the impression that if a certain type of problem or assignment is easy or takes little time, then they should assign more of it. It is buildup of these types of problems that leads to stress without actually benefitting the student much. According to an interview with Denise Pope, senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education, she states, “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 1). It is clear that students are being assigned too much homework, and actions need to be taken against that. For example, a policy could be enforced that, say, a Freshmen in Math 1 could only have up to 25 problems per night. The amount of problems would vary per class, and would be completely different per subject, as not all subjects have numbered problems and whatnot. By taking actions like these, the average students’ stress level could be drastically decreased, with very little