By: Abby Dye   

      Finally, you get home after six hours of school, then you realize you have to work today from 4-9 PM. Right after work, you dig into your backpack and pull your Chromebook out to see the list of assignments due soon. It seems like we have an overload of homework, but do we really have too much? Or are we just too busy?

      Homework can quickly add up when you have up to seven classes in one day. At times, it’s like homework is a teacher’s own version of confetti being tossed around here and there in most, if not all, classes. If you put in the time and do all the work for classes, you could easily find yourself consumed with equations rather than a social life. In a study at Stanford University in 2013, there were findings that revealed that students who had too much homework found themselves experiencing stress, physical health difficulties and lack of interaction with the public. Anyone who has a job or plays a sport knows that homework will certainty make you stay up even later at nights- meaning the next day you are a walking zombie in the hallways.

      Truth be told, it’s the teachers who have the hardest jobs. They are never in the best seat when it comes to assignments and grades. High school teachers have over a hundred students a day and are expected to get to know each individual in just one year alone. That isn’t even counting the pressure to create and grade tests. Ms. McAuley, a science teacher at Oak Hills, reported “I find myself grading assignments for about 30-60 minutes each weekday, and sometimes 2-4 hours on the weekend. Usually every week I spend 3-6 hours creating assignments.” Teachers are truly the ones who have the most difficult jobs with spending hours of their time involved with homework. Students always complain of staying up hours doing homework, but imagine having to create the homework, grade every single written response and scan multiple choice sheets over and over.

     Either way you look at the issue, you just have to learn how to manage your time. Homework is not going to disappear (no matter how many of us wish it would) and we can’t pause time; it is what it is. Ms. McAuley estimated that only 60% of her students complete their homework, 25% attempt but do not complete and 15% do not attempt at all. Homework is only about putting in effort and trying your best. In the worst case scenario, it’s about learning from your mistakes. The worst thing to do is to wait until the very last minute to get started on homework. If you have a study hall, actually use it to study, and do work rather than be on your phone.

    High school is the time to start managing your work and learn from your mistakes. This is the perfect period in a person’s life to learn how to manage time.