At Saint Ignatius and across the country, students and teachers continue to debate whether homework helps learning or harms students’ well-being. A 2014 study by Stanford University suggests that “the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good.”
Another study by the University of San Diego found that excessive homework is associated with high stress levels, physical health problems, and a lack of balance in children’s lives; 56% of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stress.
These studies show that homework can have both benefits and drawbacks. Homework can exercise students’ brains and allow growth and knowledge gain outside of the classroom, but it can also lead to negative effects like sleep loss, stress, the feeling of being overworked, and harm to a student’s overall well-being. This pressure, combined with the negative effects of homework, is common among many high school students across the country and beyond.
This research raises an important question: how much homework is too much? An article from the University of San Diego explains, “When it comes to health and stress it is clear that excessive homework, for children at both ends of the spectrum, can be damaging.” Finding the right amount of homework could help both students who support homework and students who oppose it feel that their needs are being considered.
For our first student from Saint Ignatius College Prep, we have Colleen Tracy. Tracy is a Division I swimmer committed to Georgetown University and is a strong athlete within her school community. Her stance on the situation is that she disagrees with homework outside of school.
“I disagree with homework outside of school because we already have plenty of time during the day to get things done. We could learn more during school hours so we don’t have to take work home, because all of us have other things to do,” said Tracy.
She feels strongly about this and her experience supports the statistics from the University of San Diego study. She said, “Yes, I do think homework induces stress and anxiety on kids.”
With her sports and school mixed, she sometimes has a hard time balancing life between the two. “Sometimes I end practice at 8 p.m., and then I still have to go home and eat dinner. I haven’t had time to do homework yet, so it takes away from my sleep,” said Tracy.
For Tracy, sleep is vital for her everyday activities and provides a huge energy boost while in the pool. She takes AP and honors classes and has a substantial amount of homework every night.
She said, “I usually do one to two hours of homework a night, but if I didn’t work during school, it would be at least three.”
Eamonn O’Shaughnessy is also a student athlete at Saint Ignatius College Prep and is a very serious and driven scholar. He said, “I think homework is very beneficial to the growth of a student’s knowledge. As annoying as it can be, I do agree with homework.”
O’Shaughnessy usually gets his homework done in one hour, but this can differ based on the day.
“Homework only interferes when it’s my fault for being on my phone too long. If I set aside one hour a day, it doesn’t interfere with anything.” O’Shaughnessy said.He connects school to helping with homework and allowing him to get it done quickly.
He said, “In class you can pay attention and take notes, but it’s not always enough. Going home and getting that last final stretch of writing down what you know is very helpful for retaining the information for tests and quizzes.”
O’Shaughnessy works very hard in school and uses homework as an advantage for learning rather than a disadvantage, which is different from what some of the statistics show.
Teachers at Saint Ignatius also have strong opinions about homework. Ms. Perlman, who teaches Pre-Calculus, believes homework can be helpful when it has a purpose.
“I support homework when it’s clear and focused, not just something to take up time,” she said. “A short reading or practice assignment can help students come to class prepared and build good habits, as long as it doesn’t take over their whole night.”
On the other hand, Mr. Augustinsky takes a different approach, especially in his Introduction to Robotics class, where he rarely assigns homework.
“In a hands-on class, I’d rather students build and experiment in the lab with support than stress over work alone at home,” Augustinsky said. “After a full day of school and activities, they also need time to rest.”
Overall, homework remains a controversial topic for both students and teachers. It can help students review and learn material, but it can also feel tiring and overwhelming.
Perlman explained, “A small amount of focused homework can be useful, but once it starts hurting sleep or mental health, it stops being helpful. We need to find a balance that challenges students without burning them out.”
From negatives to positives, homework is a controversial topic for both students and teachers. It is assigned in almost every school and is meant to help students learn and gain knowledge on a subject outside of class, but it can also feel tiring, hard, and overwhelming.
Many people are still looking for a middle ground that keeps the benefits of homework without putting too much pressure on students.
From the piles of homework students have to complete every night to the benefits gained from extra practice, students and teachers continue to try to balance expectations inside and outside of the classroom. The conversation around homework continues to ask how schools can challenge students without overwhelming them.
