Have you ever been sitting at home after almost seven hours at school plus extra-curriculars, just starting your homework, and knowing that you won’t be done for hours? If so, you’re not alone. Kids are forced to go to school for 6-7 hours a day, plus participate in extra-curriculars, do chores, take drivers’ ed, and have jobs. Kids already have so much on their plates, and hours of homework and studying every night adds so much more stress to kids’ already stressful lives. Studies show that high school students have an average of four hours of homework per night, even though the recommended amount of homework for high schoolers is half that. Homework should be significantly reduced, or even gotten rid of completely.

Homework has been around since 1905, and students have been forced to go home and do additional work ever since. However, there are no proven benefits to homework. It is proven by the National Education Association however, that homework takes away from time for extracurricular activities, time with family and friends, and causes excess stress. Students are already in school for enough time, and they should be able to do the majority of their work at school, because after all, that is what school is for. Students are more likely to get burnt out and not be able to pay attention in class if they are too busy doing their homework all night.

Teachers will often assign homework if the class finishes the work early to “keep them busy”. Busy work should not be allowed, as it is not promoting learning, only adding to the stress of students’ lives. It is absurd that students will be assigned homework just because they did well on the classwork and got through it. It’s almost like a punishment for doing well and being efficient with your classwork.

In conclusion, homework has minimal effect on students, only stressing them out more than needed. It is tedious and pointless for the most part, especially with younger students. To remedy this, there should be a no homework rule for elementary school or younger students, and a 30 minute rule for middle and high school students.