With bulging backpacks and arms full of books, grumpy students trudge their ways home with only one thing to look forward to: homework, and lots of it. Ever since the new year’s schedule has set in, it seems that students have been burdened with unbearable amounts of work. The work is extremely hard to manage, especially if kids do sports after school. Several students have complained about staying up until the wee hours of the morning just to accomplish all of their assignments.

Despite student complaints that the work amount is unbearable, teachers say that it is nothing different from past years. Mrs. Abraham, who teaches history, says that she has been giving the same amount of homework for the past seven years. Abraham also states that the homework assigned for her academic classes is usually “half an hour per night”, while the honors work amount ranges from “half an hour to one hour of homework each night”. In addition, “students are given one to ten days notice for due dates of assignments,” says Abraham. Other teachers say similar things. Ms. Jakymec, also a history teacher, says that not only are students given plenty of time to complete their assignments, but also “a calendar is given once a month to inform students of all of their future assignments”. Furthermore, Dr. Kessler, a science teacher, says she also assigns the same amount of homework as last year. Roughly “two to three written assignments a week” is the usual amount of work for her classes. Kessler also said that teachers have homework too. They must “correct student work, plan lessons, and keep current on new information in their subject area.” This shows that maybe the students aren’t the only ones with unbearable amounts of work. In addition, Kessler points out that in most jobs, such as that of a veterinarian or lawyer, a large amount of work away from the job site is required. It seems like high school is just the beginning of a future of heavy amounts of work.

So despite what students are saying, perhaps the homework amount is bearable, but students just aren’t using their time wisely. If teachers give as little homework as they say they do and give notice of future assignments, students should be able to complete all of their work while getting to bed at a reasonable hour.