Homework is supposed to be an opportunity away from school that helps a student learn and progress in their academics. But how much homework is just too much? Is it worth stressing a student out, keeping them up until the wee hours of the morning, just to finish some busywork that the teacher gave them? And most horribly, is it worth forcing them to do work all day long, and give them no free time to spend with their friends and families? To keep on track, a person needs time to play games, or hang out with friends, because it refreshes their mind and makes them relax and feel better. This, in turn allows them to come back the school next day, rejuvenated and ready to learn something new.

Sadly, teachers hand out busywork to keep students occupied, which is wasting valuable learning time at home when they could be doing something more productive. Taking the time to teach students during class is more important than requiring them to do assignment after assignment on their own while at home. Why can’t the teachers teach us how to buy a house? Or how to pay taxes and bills? The education system is preventing students from learning very essential tasks that are used in everyday life, and they substitute it with stuff that we will never end up using.

According to the National Education Association, a student must have no longer than 10 minutes of homework a night for each successive grade. That means first graders get ten minutes, second graders get twenty minutes, third graders get thirty minutes, and so on until high school level. I understand that high school students need to be faced with stronger challenges if the teachers want to see progression, but is it worth it to make a student do six plus hours a night or more? Every district is different with the amount of work given to students, and everyone can come to an agreement that they all have very high expectations of their student body.

If a student is expected to do this much homework, then he/she needs to be majorly recognized and  respected throughout the school, and receive very special rewards that would only be given to those who spend their time studying hard to keep good grades. Like less homework/busywork, a day where the student doesn’t even have to show up for a day of school out of the month, or later deadlines for assignments compared to other students.

Teachers also need to be more considerate when they talk to a student about their grades. For example, if a student is making Fs, then the teacher should be serious, and talk to them and his/her parents about what’s going on and try to set them back on course. On the other hand, if a student made As, then teachers should be very cheerful, and deeply congratulate that student for their achievement. Not only would this make the student feel great, it would remind them that their efforts are not in vain, which would make them continue what they are doing and strive to do even better than before.

Homework needs to turn into actual homework rather than busywork. It should provide a student with knowledge at a slow pace for better learning and memorization. The work that teachers give must be completely relevant to the task at hand, and should always be able to give students an inside to the future of their lives, like being able to do your taxes on their own. Students that are succeeding should be given extra special rewards in comparison to the ones who don’t care for homework and their grades. If a student makes Cs and below annually, then the teachers need to take immediate action and help them improve. The district needs to stop worrying about how much money they are pulling in and rather concentrate more on helping students grow up, mature, and become well educated young people. Receiving an education is the most important thing in the early life of a person, and it should not be wasted with busywork and useless information that someone won’t even need to remember and use later in their lives. In the end, homework is really useful and completely necessary, but it should not be pushed so much that it will do a student more harm than good.