(Nov. 23, 2010) -- Upon entering high school, many aspects of teens’ lives change. One of the most prominent differences between previous years of schooling and coming onto the big high school campus is the workload. According to a study conducted by the US Department of Education in 2002, the percentage of students with more than ten hours of homework per week is about 37 percent, with another 26 percent reporting that they spend five to ten hours on homework a week. Studying also needs to be taken into account, because if a student actually sits and studies the way their teacher would like to for each class, the hours rack up.

All of this would be fine and dandy if school were the only thing in our lives. For most teens though, school is only one of the responsibilities that must be dealt with on a daily basis. According to Jan Swander, a workforce analyst, at least 35% of teenagers hold formal jobs; this includes informal work such as babysitting and chores around the house. With part time jobs averaging about 15 hours a week, employment occupies a considerable amount of time that could have been spent on studies.

This is where cramming comes in, shining in all its incorrect yet so temptingly convenient glory. Although I’m sure we all would like to take a good hour or so each day to study for each subject, going over notes and making sure that everything is understood and ready to be tested, the harsh reality of it is that many students don’t have that kind of time. School alone takes seven hours each day — approximately nine hours if you are a Clarkie using the buses to get to school and back.

Factor in work, meals and other time consuming variables, and much time isn’t left for homework. And, of course, those oh-so-recommended eight consecutive hours of sleep per night need to be counted in somewhere too. So our last resort has sneakily and quickly become the only way to go about “studying for the test” because actually learning what is asked of us takes more time and energy the night before than we have to spare. The guilt of going against the will of our teachers and simply memorizing is an unpleasant but necessary price to pay for the preferred grade — because whether it is admitted or not, grades are what matters.