In recent years, studies have found that the amount of homework that students undertake each week has spiked in the last few years. According to a survey of 1,000 K-12 teachers, teachers assign as much as three and a half hours of homework per week. If a student is taking multiple high intensity classes, do the math: that is a lot of time spent on homework.

This can definitely have a negative impact on a student’s emotional and physical health. A high school student is still developing both physically, emotionally, and socially. If a student is spending all of their time on school work, then they do not have the chance to grow and maintain a healthy balance of physical activity and social stimulation.

Studies have also shown that there is no concrete evidence that homework is worth all the time and stress. There are multiple perspectives on this issue, but everyone can agree that if students are spending all their time being students without filling other important roles in their lives, such as athletes, friends, and family members, this will eventually have a very negative impact on these students’ priorities and experiences throughout high school.

Homework can certainly be helpful. Though it can be a bit of a nuisance, it helps students gain a better understanding of the concepts learned in school. Homework also can give students an idea of what they are interested in and what career path they may want to go down in the future. But, there is a difference between teenagers who are healthily stimulated in their classrooms and students who are so exhausted from stress they can barely function.

Teachers, when you are assigning busy work and multiple hours of homework, consider their students’ lives outside of school and how the multiple hours of homework are affecting students’ development.