Students should not be given homework. Not only is it unnecessary, but it also makes us hate school more.  The school day lasts about seven hours, and we have to be here five days out of the week. Why isn’t that enough?

For my entire life, my parents have drilled into my head that I MUST make good grades. It’s basically a matter of life and death. For this reason school and grades have always been something that makes me extremely stressed out. I’ll admit I’ve had a meltdown or two simply because I have so much homework and not enough time or energy to complete it. I think not having homework to worry about late into the night would benefit me during the actual school day.

These days,  technology has become a big part of the education system. The use of Chromebooks has become extremely popular, with twenty-five million students using these laptops. The issue with this is that not all students have internet access at home. While they are incredibly useful at school, some students may simply not be able to complete assignments at home, making homework impossible.

Another reason homework should be eliminated is for kids who participate in extracurricular activities.  What I mean by this is that kids who are involved in sports, academic clubs, etc., are penalized for the simple fact that they show school spirit and participate. One example of this is that earlier this year I was given several homework assignments on the day of a basketball game. There was barely time for me to look at my homework, much less complete it. The next day I had to turn in the assignments incomplete.  I believe student-athletes should be rewarded for representing their school not given the short end of the stick.

My mom is a teacher, so I know teachers can sometimes feel the same way we do about school. Grading papers, reading essays, and conducting experiments seem stressful enough, so why add on to it with extra grading? Being an educator is a stressful job and eliminating homework will take some of the stress away for them.

One fact of life is that students are going to cheat… on everything. I’m not going to lie, doing schoolwork at home is basically asking google. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually learned anything from homework. Giving out homework is relatively pointless because chances are we will cheat.

Not only does homework cause stress for teachers and students alike, but it also creates issues for those who participate in extracurricular activities. It also penalizes students who aren’t lucky enough to have internet access at home. Kids aren’t learning history, they are learning how to cheat. Homework should be eliminated from the education system. Like Lily Tomlin once said, “I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.”