Credit: Annabelle Hage

WSPN’s Annabelle Hage and Sadie Alongi reflect on the limitations of homework, and whether too much can be harmful for students.

It’s 11:54 p.m., and the light is still on in a high schooler’s bedroom. Her math homework is half-finished, there’s a history quiz tomorrow she hasn’t touched, and her eyes are starting to blur from exhaustion. This kind of night isn’t rare. It’s routine. Students wake up early to go to school, spend six and a half hours in class, and then come home only to face even more work. Even beyond the typical daily homework, students might have a test – or sometimes more than one – that they must also study for. This demanding workload can only benefit students so much before it becomes harmful for their mental health.

Homework offers many undeniable benefits that help students better understand the topics that are taught in school. If work was only done in class, lessons would be taught at a much slower pace since students wouldn’t be practicing on their own time. But, while homework does tend to improve students’ understanding, it is hard to ignore the obvious issues that come along with it.

Studies have found that more than two hours of homework per night for teenagers can be counterproductive and worsen students’ mental health. The study revealed that students who spend excessive time studying every night were faced with higher stress levels, trouble sleeping and headaches.

Moreover, many students also spend time outside of school participating in extracurriculars they take interest in and enjoy. Students have to manage their time wisely, but it can become incredibly difficult when they are involved in daily activities including sports, theater and clubs. This means that in order to complete all their work on time, it takes a lot of planning and time management skills.

“I try to do as much work as I can during school so I have less when I come home from extracurriculars,” sophomore Violet Kuris said.

Experts have found that teenagers have a tendency to stay up late due to the biological shift in the release of hormones. However, teens still require eight to 10 hours of sleep for their health. Many students don’t have the opportunity to begin their school work until late at night due to these extracurriculars, which leads to a lack of sleep. To add on, students must wake up early in order to get to school on time, which can make it difficult for them to feel well rested throughout the day.

“I usually get finished [with homework] at 11 p.m. and then go to bed,” sophomore Mason Andler said.

Despite the consequences that an excessive homework load can have on a student’s mental health, it is still necessary in order for students to thrive in their classes. It’s simply all about finding the balance between homework and life outside of school. It’s reasonable for teachers to assign daily homework, but is it still beneficial for students when each teacher assigns an hour of homework, sometimes more?

We call upon teachers and the community to consider the amount of homework they give their students per night. It’s important to take notice of how too much homework can negatively impact a student’s mental health. We understand that homework is necessary for learning, but the impacts of an unreasonable homework load can seriously undermine the point of homework.