Homework; a word that strikes annoyance into the hearts of all students. I think we have all been in the situation at one point or another when you have worked studiously through the night on homework. You work by the light of the moon, bleeding grimly through your curtains and the dim light of your desk lamp, your eyes droop shut but you reach for another caffeinated beverage to keep yourself up. Your hand cramps and you wonder if you will be able to move it in the morning, if you get that far. The chirp of the crickets outside and the sound of your father snoring in the next room reminds you, that it is 3 o'clock in the morning and you are still doing homework! Ever since the torture of homework has been practiced students have struggled with many aspects of homework; whether is be lack of time doing it between jobs and extracurricular activities of inability to do work at home since concentration is close to impossible, these reasons are unlimited and mostly not just cop out excuses, these are real problems that many students experience and in this essay I will explain several of the reasons why homework should be limited to just an hour or two a night.

Firstly and possibly the most traumatic aspect that gives student difficulty is the overwhelming amount of homework thrown from different teachers. This homework can sometimes take you long into the night as you attempt to get it all done. A teenager is expected to get nine to nine and a half hours of sleep a night which if you do the math means that teens should be called asleep at roughly at 8'clock at night to meet the usual harsh morning wake up call of 5:30. Let's face it, not many can meet this goal especially with the amount of homework given. Students who are dedicated to their work and strive to do well will stay up all night if neccessary to work. Sleep deprivation causes inability to control stress and emotions, lack of self confidence and moodswings and even depression. Also when students are staying up to work at night they are falling asleep in class! Not all of us can be caffeinated insomniacs like some teachers! (Ms.Acevedo).


My second aspect is the number of students working that don't have the time to do the homework. Of-course an amount of an hour or two a night would be fine but this is rare. With the recession putting pressure on all of us many teens are pressed to get jobs from their parents and when they do so hours are long and rough. This also goes hand and hand with sleep deprivation for those that work will stay up at night to complete work. Another issue is when students are engaging in extra-curricular activities which parents also push students into for hope of scholarships. For example, a few years ago I played for two softball teams; Croydon Little League and F.D.R. After school I would practice with F.D.R until five thirty and than practice with the little league until about eight. Needless to say if I could bring myself to shower and eat at the end of the day that was an accomplishment, luckily I had the option to quit but I know many people who do not have this option, who are forced to play sports and than also to keep up their grades.

And my last point is; How many of us want to dedicate more time than needed to school work? As stated before the one or two hours of homework is understandable but when it takes you hours on end what really is the point? We are not reinforcing what we had already learned but just doing it to get it done, to be able to sleep and have some free time away from school. Many will agree that social interaction is an important part of teenagers lives, to build social skills needed later in the work place. We cannot do this all at once! Homework takes time away from friends and family.

In conclusion; homework is assigned to reinforce previous learning but it is often more harmful than good. I have explained my reasoning and I feel it is time to give a reasonable amount of homework that way students are able to complete it while fulfilling their other obligations. To much homework can be traumatic to students and put them under an incredible amount of stress, stress unneeded at our age when we have so much more to stress about. A time when many tell us we should make the most of but than we are bogged down with homework. Homework should be limited to an hour or two at night that way students can reinforce what they learn but also enjoy life outside of the classroom.