Homework Load

For as long as public schools have existed, students have complained about the homework load. But parents have been disappointed with the amount of homework given out in class. They say it is not enough, because their son or daughter doesn’t need to bring home their homework. But any student would say that he or she gets too much homework.

When asked if too much homework is given, 8th grader Bryan Gilligan says, “Heck, yes, there’s way too much homework. It’s so overwhelming.”

But Gilligan doesn’t even have to bring his homework home, defeating the purpose of homework: “I either get it done in A&E or AME [study halls].”

If you don’t have to bring your homework home, do you really have too much? Of course I could say this because I am working on this column for homework, but I don’t usually have to bring my homework home. Many students think that they have too much homework, but they really don’t.

There are many opportunities to get the homework done in school, even during class. It is easy for the average student to get his or her homework done in study halls. Either that or the student doesn’t get it done in study hall and does it in class the next day when it is due. Or, the student procrastinates (if you don’t know what that means, it’s your homework to look it up) and just blows it off and does the whole thing in class the next day. Obviously you can’t do that for big projects, because it would take too long.

Homework could become a problem for those students in two or more music classes. That cuts the number of study halls in half. If you only have one study hall per day, it’s almost like having twice as much homework as a student with two study halls. I had the same problem back in 6th grade. I was in band and orchestra, and only had one study hall. I always had a lot of homework, and it was hard to keep up. For me, the answer was simple: quit band. This is NOT saying that you should quit a music class. It is a very good experience and the teachers are great.

It is hard to say which subjects require the most homework, apart from math. Usually there is an assignment given out every day, but that is understandable because if you do the math you are currently working on every day, it will be easier to remember and do.

It is also hard to say which grade gives out the most homework. Obviously, a 4th grade teacher gives out less homework than an 8th grade teacher. That might be changing, though. For example, my 1st grade **ahem** 4th grader comes home with more homework than me every day. What’s up with that? Not that I’m complaining or anything.

So when you decide to complain about the homework in A&E or AME, just think if you have to bring it home. Should you aggravate your teacher by complaining, or just suck it up like an 8th grader and do it because you don’t even have to take it home like my 4th grade sister?

For many students the homework load is medium to little. But if you have less study halls or for some reason have to miss study halls, the homework load could be medium to high. It all depends on the classes the students are taking. However, some students just mess around in study halls and don’t do homework, so they sometimes have to take it home. That’s kind of their fault, though.

Also remember that studies show that doing your homework helps you on the quiz or test. For some students it doesn’t, but the homework should cover what will be on the quiz/test. It depends on the student, but in most cases if you work hard on the homework you will do better on the test rather than taking the test without doing your homework. Scientists dedicate their time to this kind of research, so take this seriously.

So when you finish your homework in the study halls and when you are out with your friends having fun and not doing homework, think about if you have too much homework. If you are out with your friends not doing homework, you probably don’t have too much.