Every student has gotten homework before. There have been questions on whether homework actually benefits students in anyway. Studies conducted by a Stanford researcher found that students in high achieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress and physical problems.

 

Nesreen Shukr, 8th grader at Unis Middle School, as well as a 4.0 student, stated that “Homework can be a positive thing, because it lets you practice work independently, so that you can test yourself about what you are studying in class.” Although homework can be positive for some, the Stanford research found that more than 2 hours of studying may be counterproductive (the opposite of productive).

 

For some students like Badria Sobh, 7th grader at Unis Middle School, homework frustrates them. Badria stated “Homework takes a lot of time. It sometimes makes me mad, because it has hard questions.”

Luckily for students attending Unis Middle School, they offer after school math homework help from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays every week. So at least students can get help for one subject they are struggling with.

 

Jana Ghoul, also a 7th grader at Unis Middle School, stated that for her “It’s not what amount of homework or the time it takes, it’s about how it is set up to help you.” Some teachers give out homework that is to be solved using a specific strategy.” However for some students the strategy is not helpful, but confusing.

   David Bates, teacher

 

David Bates, 7th grade science teacher at Unis Middle School, stated that “ I think doing work benefits students. I don’t think it matters if the work is done at school, at home, or in the library.”

When asked if homework was beneficial to him growing up, David Bates also replied with “I don’t think homework helped me, because I usually needed help with the work and I couldn’t get help at home.”

 

Some studies found that getting homework at a young age isn’t beneficial at all. Rianna Hazimi, 2nd grader at Kenlock Elementary School in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, Stated that homework doesn’t help her. It just makes her mad, because it is hard to do the work without the teacher there to help her.

 

Denise Pope, a  senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, stated that “Personally I think that kids in elementary school should just have to do “free” reading of their choice each night instead of worksheets or other assignments as homework.  In middle school, I am ok with appropriate amounts of homework – as long as it isn’t busy work and is engaging for the students to do. Studies show that the benefits of homework diminish after about 90 minutes TOTAL per night in middle school – so students shouldn’t be doing more than that.”

 

Denise Pope is also one of the people who were involved in a homework study. She also stated “When students have too much homework and too little time to do it (or it is too hard for them to do it alone at home), they can get frustrated, anxious, and even lose interest in school.  We also see homework, over scheduling, and extra curricular activities leading to sleep deprivation.

An eighth grader needs a minimum of nine hours of sleep each night –and many don’t get this.” Unfortunately, the research that Pope conducted also backs up what 7th grader Badria Sobh stated about how homework makes her mad, because it has questions that are too hard.

Whether we like it or not homework isn’t going away any time soon. Hopefully for students, stressing over homework won’t be another reason to do poorly in school.

 Mariam Amin

Unis Middle School Journalist 

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