Nicolas Carrillo

Mrs. Ricken
Pre AP English 9
27 April 2015

Homework Harmful or Helpful ? 

Did you know only about 8 percent of High school students get enough sleep every week on an
average school night? Students can not perform well when tired, this results in focus loss, easily
being distracted, and even trying to fall asleep in class. Homework is a very important topic
because of the fact that it deprives students of sleep, varying from the grades of 3rd all the way
to 12th.The world, mostly in a student’s mind, is very stressed and constantly tired.The
controversy about this topic is whether or not homework is good for you.This topic is projected
towards teachers and school districts to try and persuade to give less or even no homework.
Although homework is good practice to further learn the topic that a student is learning in
school, it is not good for the health of a student and could lead to stress and loss of sleep. Some
kids are different learners and need to go home and practice constantly to master the topic at
hand,while other kids can learn the topic in class fairly easy and not have to go home and
practice.

T​he first American schools were built in the first thirteen original colonies, in the 17th
century. Homework did not begin to be handed out until the early 1900s , it was just about the
1940s when homework began to be a big thing in school. The issue of this topic began when
homework was first given in the 20th century , ¨doctors​ ​ believed that homework interfered in
getting fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.Doctors blamed homework for nervous conditions,
eyestrain, stress and lack of sleep¨ (ASCD.org).

Homework puts too much stress on students and should be minimized drastically for students
to perform at maximum ability the next day.St​udents in high-achieving communities who spend
too much time on homework experience more stress, physical health problems, a lack of balance
and alienation from society(healthline.com). Nora Huynh a student a high school student was
desperate for a 4.0 her junior year because she knew that “ this was the make it or break it year
for college” when she got her report card she had a breakdown
and cried for hours because she didn’t get the 4.0 because of
some B pluses. This stress took a physical toll on Nora because
she suffers massive headaches and gets irritated very easily.All
the homework and studying and taking extra classes for college
credit has gotten her to this state of stress level (NPR.org).
Denise Clark Pope from the New York Times did a study,
researchers asked 4,317 kids on a high school campus and asked what was the impact of
homework on their lives and most of them told them their answers. Some examples of their
answers are ¨There is never a break. Never” (Denise Clark Pope). My little brother is in the
second grade and has a learning disability , he is forced to learn ​triple digit​ addition and
subtraction in the ​second grade​ ! Common core has pushed kids from
the first grade to the twelfth grade on learning harder and more
challenging tasks. My little brother has at least one piece of homework
for each subject every day, this includes a worksheet of
math,vocabulary,reading,writing,and even research for science.He
only completes a small portion of his homework before going to
soccer practice. After his soccer practice he then goes back home to
eat dinner and continue to work on his homework.If he does not finish
his homework at night he tries to finish it in the morning.

Homework interferes with a student’s down time and free time to do whatever he/she needs
to do whether it’s work, needs around the house, or even after school activities. High school
students were interviewed as a study for research while this study was being conducted a student
claimed ¨It takes me away from everything I used to do.” Once the student claims everything​ I
USED​ to do “that’s when a parent notices that homework has taken a huge toll on their kid’s
life”(Denise Clark Pope). Ashley White , a high school student at Pattonville High school, said
she only gets about five hours of sleep a night due to the four hours of homework a day she has
because she participates in softball, basketball, soccer and book club.At Pattonville High school
they are very concerned that students participate in these after school activities.Due to the
amount of homework students have to complete, as well as participating in after school activities
it is hard to get the proper amount of sleep necessary for the next day."I stay up to midnight
doing homework after a big softball game"(Ashley White). “Thus even a child who is left
unfazed by excessive homework or who excels in school may suffer as a result of excessive
homework because he’s/she’s unable to engage in the activities that can help him/her become a

well-rounded adult”(GoodTherapy.org).

Most teachers believe that giving homework is good for the student and can give great
practice. Homework is given so that way you are repeating what you have done in class and
eventually the student will memorize the task and be able to achieve mastery and perform
independently. Although this statement is true too much homework can lead to further unhealthy
predicament in students. “Students should not be given homework is that they need time to relax
and take their minds off work. The pressure of having to complete homework every night is quite
daunting for most children and they need time to refresh their minds and bodies” also
“Homework can cause conflict between children and parents when the parent wants to the child
to do their homework but meets resistance from the student to do an overwhelming
task.”(Teach-nology.com). Due to this Conflict between parent and child the family does not
experience family time and relaxation time because homework is time consuming and
takes up a lot of the afternoon.”According to the OECD, Finnish students have the least
amount of homework in the world. They average under half an hour of homework a
night. Finnish students typically do not have outside tutors or lessons either. This is especially
shocking when you realize Finnish students are outscoring the high performing Asian nations
whose students receive hours of additional/outside instruction. From what I can observe,
students in Finland get the work done in class, and teachers feel that what the students are able to
do in school is enough. Again, there is no pressure to have them do more than what is necessary
for them to learn a skill. Often the assignments are open-ended and not really graded. Yet, the
students work on it in class diligently. It is very interesting to see what happens to the students
when they are given something to do. The students who were not listening to the lesson at all put
away their phones and start working on the task set before them. Even if it is just a suggested
assignment, they give it their full attention up to the end of class. It is almost like there is an
unspoken agreement: “I won’t give you homework if you work on this while you are in my
classroom.” This system has really made me think about the amount of homework I assign on a
daily basis. - Julia A. Carrillo Co-Founder Inspire Kidz Foster charity.” ( Julia
Carrillo).According to the Good Schools Guide “Homework sets children up to manage their
time and plan out study schedules, which are very useful skills to have when they enter senior
high school years, tertiary study and eventually the workforce. Completing homework early in
the schooling years ensures that it becomes a habit — not an inconvenience”
(Goodschools.com). Although homework can potentially provide these things most students are
in after school activities so they cannot use these skills without losing sleep, and without the
proper amount of sleep for the next day they cannot work and learn at maximum potential.
​Homework causes students to have major loss of sleep due to after school activities and other
personal things.Due to this lack of sleep students later show signs of other symptoms such as
high stress levels and physical health problems. ¨A study conducted by Stanford Graduate School
of Education surveyed more than 4,300 students from ten high-performing public and private
high schools in affluent California communities, and found that excessive homework causes high
stress levels and physical health problems. 'We found a clear connection between the students'
stress and physical
impacts -- migraines,
ulcers and other
stomach problems, sleep deprivation and exhaustion, and weight loss,' co-author of the study,
Denise Pope, told CNN¨ (Denise Pope). A father of a 13 year old female student decides to do
his daughter's homework for a week and goes on an emotional roller coaster. The mother starts
doing the homework on Monday, his daughter comes home and is relieved to tell him that she
doesn't have much today she​ only ​has 11 polynomial algebraic equations, 79 pages of reading
and answering comprehension questions about the reading , and studying for an earth science test
on minerals, the total time spent on all of this was about 2-3 hours. Wednesday's report was ​is
just seven algebra equations, studying for a Humanities test on industrialization, and more Earth
Science his daughter still claims that this is only a little bit, but the end result turns out to be 3
hours of working. Friday's Report claims that ​the weekend homework​ includes another 15
algebra equations, studying for a Spanish test on Monday, and more reading (qz.com)The fact
that this person made a daily blog about doing his daughter's homework sends a message saying
that kids these days are being pushed to much and need to be given less homework to decrease
health issues in children.

In conclusion the solution to solving the cut of homework is clear , homework should be cut
down drastically or shouldn’t be given at all.With the new curriculum established
called,Common Core, the future does not look to good for the cut of homework .The Common
Core curriculum focuses on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical
skills students will need to be successful. In order to do this students face much more homework
to finish weekly then ever before.As a result there have been more and more health problems
regarding stress and anxiety every month.America must make a stand to cut homework for the
better future of the twenty first century , remember our kids​ are​ the future, so lets make the cut
of homework permanent.

Works Cited

​"Is Too Much Homework Bad for Kids' Health?" Healthlines RSS News. Web. 22 May
2015.

"School Stress Takes A Toll On Health, Teens And Parents Say." NPR. NPR. Web. 22
May 2015.
¨ ​Homework, after-school activities lead to sleep deprivation for teens.¨ ​Old Newsboys
Web. 22 May 2015.

"Fighting a Losing Battle: Too Much Homework Can Interfere with Learning."
GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog. 23 May 2012. Web. 22 May 2015.

"5 Reasons Kids Need Homework and 5 Reasons They Don't." 5 Reasons Kids Need
Homework and 5 Reasons They Don't. Web. 22 May 2015.

"The Advantages and Disadvantages of Homework." The Advantages and

Disadvantages of Homework. Web. 22 May 2015.

"I Did My Daughter’s Homework for a Week and It Nearly Killed Me." Quartz. Web. 22
May 2015.

"Homework, After-school Activities Lead to Sleep Deprivation for Teens." Homework,

After-school Activities Lead to Sleep Deprivation for Teens. Web. 22 May 2015.