Gabrielle Buffaloe
Ms. Asuncion                                                                                                        
English 9H, Block 3
February 12, 2016
Should homework be given in schools?
            The thing every student hates most: homework. Teachers say it helps kids learn, but to students it just feels like extra work. School already takes up seven hours of the day, add in time for extracurricular activities and there’s barely any time to get homework done. This busy schedule leaves no time to be spent with family. Also, with a busy schedule and hours of school work every night most kids have to stay up late to complete assignments, causing sleep deprivation and stress. Finally, most assignments do not help students understand content more and are just assigned as busy work. In most situations homework causes more harm than good.
            Most people say that today’s generation has too little human interaction. Most teenagers are constantly on their cellphones, but homework might be doing the same thing. Too much homework can keep kids sitting alone for hours, limiting time with friends and family. “Family studies at the University of Michigan, show that family time is extremely important to achievement and behavior.  Studies on family meals, suggest that students who have dinner with their family have better academic scores and behavioral outcomes” (Clifford, paragraph 11). According to the quote, giving less homework and allowing more time to be spent with families could even improve grades.
            Most students stay up late in order to complete assignments. This is bad for their health and will make children be less focused in class the next day. According to Dr. Craig Canapari, an average teenager needs eight and a half to nine hours of sleep a night. Most teens are not getting enough sleep; they are instead staying up late and stressing over school work. According to a survey done by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, “Homework was a leading cause of stress, with 24 percent of parents saying it's an issue” (Neighmond, paragraph 7). All of the stress and sleep deprivation can lower grades and cause health issues.
            Most assignments do not even help students understand the lessons better. Some teachers just assign busy work because they feel as if they have to assign homework every night. Assigning busy work just causes students to lose sleep, and reduces time spent with families with little intellectual benefit. There is no link to the amount of homework a student has their learning. In fact, “a 2006 study by Yankelovick found that reading achievement declined when students were assigned too much homework” (Clifford, paragraph 9).

            Homework limits time spent with families, causing stress and sleep deprivation, and most homework does not even improve learning. Lessening or removing homework might improve grades, while also improving health and social skills. While there may be some slight academic value to homework, most of it causes more harm than good. 

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