Since homework plagues the mind of many Doherty students, many kids have been more stressed than ever. But does it help at all? Here, we will answer that question, with the views of many students and teachers on whether homework is necessary.
While there are many arguments to be made in favor of the extra work, it seems that many people, students and teachers alike, have their reservations about the practice. Many view it as redundant, unnecessarily stressful, and nothing but mere busy work. To add to this, the block schedule only makes teachers give more homework when they really do not want to.
It is important to view the perspective of the student when discussing homework. Ethan Stremble, a senior at Doherty, was passionate about the matter: “I’m doing work in class, so I don’t need to do it at home.”
We agree. We believe that classes are already loaded with information day in and day out, and with the long block schedules, it already is enough stress to attend class and stay attentive. If students are working hard already, especially with upper classmen having jobs and other extracurricular activities, homework only makes their lives way more stressful.
Jasmine Juarez, a junior at Doherty, stated, “I feel like [homework] just puts more stress on a student, especially if that student gets assigned homework for each class. I feel that teaching in a class and making sure students understand the material is the most important part of learning.”
This sentiment is commonly shared among students, and it is not hard to see why. When students are loaded with dozens of assignments on top of their regular life, it becomes stressful to the point of demotivating these students. If they are doing well in the classroom, they will continue to do so without tons of homework.
Kimber Cook, another senior at Doherty, said, “Homework is the most useless thing ever to me. School is supposed to be preparing us for the real world, and there is no way I would want to do work outside of work.” Most of the time homework just tends to be pointless busywork, and rarely advances any information students learn in the classroom.
What may be more surprising is that even some teachers feel this way. Mrs. Montague, one of the most well-established teachers at Doherty, stated, “I do not think students are their own best teacher, I think they need a teacher in the classroom.” However, she also complicated this by explaining the unfortunate compromises teachers with these beliefs must make to account for the block schedule. However, in any normal situation, the stress that students get from receiving homework is resonated through the teachers who give it as well.
On the other hand, some teachers find homework a necessary aspect of the curriculum. Mrs. Ortiz, an experienced math teacher at Doherty, said: “Students need to be practicing the information they learn in class so that they can do well on assessments.” In some classes, especially advanced math courses, this can undeniably be true. Homework can help students further understand the material.
However, at large, homework just does not serve as strongly of a purpose as some teachers pose it to be. It only serves to stress both students and teachers out, and in most situations, for little reward. Teachers definitely should put less weight on their students. If you are doing well in the classroom, that should be all you are expected to do!
