It’s time to reconsider the value of homework

In the educational world, homework has always been seen as an essential part of the learning process. Although it has been this way for quite some time, it is time to re-evaluate this idea. When students are given homework, they are often faced with overwhelming stress, less personal time, and many other negative issues. It is time for schools to take a step forward and eliminate homework entirely. 

 School alone is stressful and can be mentally draining, so why load homework on top of that? Homework has many negative effects on the mental health of students and it is found to be a leading stress factor in the US. According to healthlines.com, 56% of primary stress is caused by homework. Many students struggle with juggling homework from each class and it causes them to stress. An overload of homework and the pressure students face to get all of it done on time also triggers anxiety in many students. Homework has many terrible effects on mental health which is a huge reason why we shouldn’t have it in the school system anymore.

Another reason homework should be eliminated is because it takes away from students’ personal time. Students go to school and do work for 7 hours each day and deserve some time to themselves. Assigning homework is much like working overtime. Students go through a long day of school just to go home and continue to do work. Many students participate in extracurricular activities, such as clubs and sports. In fact, according to the college board, more than 80% of students between the ages of 12-17 take part in at least one extracurricular activity. Such a large number of students are involved in after-school activities and finding time to do both that and homework can be extremely difficult. Some may argue that homework is more important than extracurriculars, however, that isn’t true. Students do work all day at school and deserve time to work on personal growth and development. Teens need to develop more skills outside of school and if they are loaded with homework, then they have no time to do so. There are also some students who have to work after school in order to pay bills and take care of their families. These students don’t have time for homework because they are dealing with bigger issues outside of school. It isn’t fair to them that they get marked down for not doing homework because they have more important things to prioritize.

Lastly, a large portion of students end up cheating or rushing through homework anyways. Proctoredu.com did a poll that revealed that about 95% of students admitted to cheating in some form. If students aren’t learning from homework, then what’s the point of even assigning it? It’s wasting the student’s time, the teachers’ time, and it isn’t benefiting anyone in any way. 

In conclusion, schools should stop assigning homework for many good reasons. Students come from many different backgrounds, going through different situations, and some truly do not have the time to do work outside of school.  Whether a student is participating in after-school activities or working to provide for their families, they all deserve to have time for themselves outside of school, which is why homework should be eliminated.