The Dangers of Harmful Homework

Have you ever felt like you were trapped in hours of homework each day, so much so that you won’t have enough time to yourself than you would want? This is a day in the life of average students all over the world, and it can cause many unnecessary problems. More homework gives less freedom to kids, will most likely cause stress that will heavily influence someone else’s lives, and will force students to spend time with loved ones. As a student, I sometimes felt isolated because of homework and just from school in general. After you read my message, whether you’re a teacher or a student, you could do something to make homework less challenging. If you’re a student, you should spend more time with your family instead of doomscrolling on TikTok, or if you’re a teacher, you could give students less homework if they feel overwhelmed.

Some schools have over two hours of homework, and in my school, students can reach about three and a half hours of homework each day. This can cause many major problems in the long term. Adding on, since there are 24 hours in a day, spending time on homework is already one-eighth of your day. This shouldn’t be the ideal ratio to a student’s day in a life, and I think students don’t pay enough attention to it. For example, students already have seven hours dedicated to school, but have another three hours for homework. This is about half of your day, and there is not much you can do with the rest of your day, as sleeping is also a large part of your day. You won’t have enough time for hobbies you actually enjoy, like playing fun video games, going to the park, shopping, and much more, which is major to kids’ mental health since they should be able to express who they are, and more importantly, can really positively affect someone’s happiness. As proven on Tandfonline, pursuing and acting upon your hobbies can really help with self-esteem, social skills, and reduce stress.

If overworking were described in one word, that word would be homework. Most kids feel absolutely exhausted, even before the first period, which is at 7:45 am at my school, Boston Latin School. Since sleeping is essential to growth, a lack of sleep would negatively impact a kid’s growth, and too much homework is a large part of damaging it. Homework can also cause large amounts of cortisol, and too high a level of cortisol is not healthy, especially for a student’s body. This is proven by the Cleveland Clinic, and it says, “Symptoms of high cortisol levels, or Cushing syndrome, can include: weight gain, high blood sugar, high blood pressure…” Also, some of the negative effects of high cortisol include sleep problems, high blood pressure, mood changes, fatigue, and weight gain. This proves that homework not only affects your mental self but also your physical health, as well. 

While homework gets students busy, it can be too much at times, and if you have a strong relationship with your family and friends, it may weaken your ability to be able to talk to them. Even if students have enough time to communicate with loved ones, that does not mean it takes the worry away, too. As for me, even when I’m not doing any school-related activities or work, I will probably still be thinking of school, and especially homework. This can even slightly interfere with family matters. Spending time with family is crucial, and homework is a main reason why parents may ask, “Why is my kid not talking to me as often anymore?” On the contrary, if schools gave students less homework, there would be a larger chance that the children would find a way to connect with their friends and family.

For those reasons, an overload of homework can overburden students, give them less independence to follow what they want to pursue, and weaken their connections with relatives and loved ones. An extreme amount of homework will not be beneficial to anyone, but instead, worsen the conditions of school. In addition, this would only feed the belief that school is a waste of time, and schools aren’t doing anything to change that, but continue with the stale concept of a traditional school. If you find yourself working endlessly on hours of homework, remind yourself what you stand for and who you are when you doubt your abilities, when the work and effort you put in gets unnoticed, because letters don’t solely determine your success in life.

This article was written in partnership with Steppingstone.