Homework has been a part of everyone’s life since elementary school. Whether homework should be given or not has been an ongoing argument for a very long time. There will be many reasons in this article as to why there should be no homework and how no homework will benefit students and teachers in the long run.

I have never personally been a fan of homework. Homework to me seems very unnecessary and pointless because why sit in a classroom for eight hours and continue to do more work when you get home. Homework causes unnecessary stress and anxiety. Homework can heavily impact your grade, and I do not think that is fair because if you do not have time or don’t understand it, it’s going to be hard to complete it and it will bring down your grade. I am always busy and work almost everyday after school which leaves me no time to finish homework. I work from 5-10:30 almost every weekday and then I have to come home and do my homework. Homework keeps me up until 1am. I do not get enough sleep because I have to finish homework that my teachers assigned me and that causes me to be very tired in school and not focus. 

The national PTA and NEA have shown that homework can stop someone from being social, cause excessive stress and physical health problems, and can  prevent students from developing other important life skills. Researchers asked students from Stanford University if they have ever  experienced physical symptoms of stress such as headaches, weight loss, sleep deprivation and other symptoms. Over 80% of students responded with at least one symptom. 44% of students responded with three or more symptoms. 

Some schools have banned homework and noticed improving results. For example, schools in Utah have banned homework. They did not choose the homework ban because the students wanted it, but banned homework because they did their  research and realized  that it would cause less stress for students and improve their physical and mental health. Utah’s referrals for anxiety reduced by more than 50% once the homework ban was put in place. 

Teachers often assign a lot of homework and do not give the appropriate amount of time for it to be completed.  Some students are unlucky and do not have a study hall, open beginning or end, which means they have eight classes to complete homework for. Students have jobs and other responsibilities outside of school, so why should we continue school at home when students are already there for seven hours a day.

Too much homework causes many students to stay up very late completing homework. Manys students work after school until nine or ten every night. Students then have to complete their homework which can cause them to stay up until very late hours. Studies show that high school students need eight to ten hours of sleep every night. With having to complete homework for four to eight classes, it’s impossible to get that much sleep after getting home from work/other responsibilities. A poll was conducted, and that poll showed that some highschool students spend almost or more than three hours on homework every night. That is insane! Homework should be no more than 20 minutes. Students would get bored after sitting there for so long causing them to not want to finish it and do poorly or not do it at all. Teachers should really understand the effect homework has on their students and they really need to open their eyes and see instead of going by the books.