Homework: what is the point?

Imagine you arrive home from school. You have just spent seven hours working diligently at school, but your backpack is jammed-packed with books from every subject. Math. History. Financial literacy. You have three tests, two projects, and a five paragraph essay due tomorrow.

Oh, did I mention you have your sibling’s birthday dinner to go to? You stare at a computer and millions of books until your eyes hurt. You are so stressed you feel like screaming. When you are done, your parent tells you it is time for bed. You lie in bed and prepare for the cycle to begin again. By this time, you hate everything about school. Every single student has gone through this.

In the past, few pupils had these issues. As homework increased, so did the levels of depression and anxiety. To continue, younger children are also enduring these issues. According to the New York Times, “..

. doctors increasingly see children in early elementary school suffering from migraine headaches and ulcers. Many physicians see a clear connection to performance pressure” (Abeles). Even children in the age range of five years old and seven years old are undergoing these typical adult health issues. In fact, a “ Migraine is most common..

More important, there [is] no reason to think that higher achievement is caused by the homework.” Obviously, the stress of homework has no point since it does not even improve grades. As aforementioned, school systems should eliminate homework from their curriculum. By assigning homework, schools are denying students of spare time, destroying students’ wellness, and causing an unmanageable amount of stress. Students can no longer have a life outside of school because they are bringing school home with them. Since homework has only increased in the past few years, the amount will only continue to increase until future generations are staying up all night.

If we do not abolish homework, students will eventually come home daily from a seven hour school day with dark circles under their eyes and backpacks that weigh fifteen pounds. Suicide rates will skyrocket. Schools by definition are a place to learn. When students dread school, they do not feel encouraged to learn. We need to eliminate homework now to create a future with children who are ambitious, confident, and have a thirst for knowledge.