What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear homework? Stressful? Or pointless? Maybe a waste of time? Whatever the thoughts may be, more likely than not it's nothing good. Everyday I get told by at least one person how stressed or tired they are. The stress is always from the amount of homework that piles up throughout the day and the tiredness usually is a result from the lack of sleep they get because of the time and effort that is put into their work. But does all this work really benefit and enhance a student's learning abilities? The answer is no. Homework does not benefit students.
     How many times do you or someone you know complain about how tired you are? Or how much homework you have? I personally say both at least three times a day.  Due to the amount of homework we students receive, the amount of sleep we get is compromised. Teenagers and children are supposed to get nine to ten hours of sleep a night. I surveyed 30 people and out of the 30, three said they get eight to nine hours, 16 said they get six to seven and surprisingly, 11 said they get under five hours of sleep a night. I surveyed the same 30 people for the hours of homework they receive a night. Out of the 30, 18 said they get three to four, ten said two to three and two said they don't get any. This lack of sleepy we're receiving is mainly due to the amount of homework we get pushed to do each night.
     Too much homework may disrupt a social and school balance for teenagers. A social life outside of school is necessary for a child/teen to grow and develop properly. Too much time spent on homework rules out time spent with friends. Believe it or not but time with friends is important for teens and children. Losing contact with friends can impact how we behave. The chance of depression will increase tremendously without friendships. As with time with friends, homework rules out time with family, which too is extremely important. Without a good relationship in their family, a teen/child may feel neglected, or too become depressed from the lack of contact. Steve Phelps, a math teacher says "students are compelled to be in my class for 48 minutes a day. If I can't get done what I need to get done, then I really have no business intruding on their family time." (Alfie Kohn). Homework also rules out time for extracurricular activities. Without extracurricular activities it's harder for a teen/child to pursue a hobby and wind what they like to do. With all the homework piling up, students feel obligated to choose that over everything else which can cause social and health issues (all from a Stanford research).
     Surprisingly, homework can cause reductions in health. The most common health reduction associated with homework is sleep deprivation. Teens and children are supposed to get nine to ten hours of sleep a night, but the typical teenager now gets about five or six hours of sleep mainly due to homework. Too much homework causes the students to stay up until even 12 in the morning to finish their work. By this time, most schools start at seven, so they only get six and a half hours of sleep a night. That's four hours less of sleep than we should be getting. Sleep deprivation can actually lead to weight loss/gain. When a teen/child doesn't get enough sleep it throws off their metabolism which will lead to a gain or loss in weight. Homework can also lead to depression. If a student is doing homework all day everyday and has no time for friends or family, it will obviously lead to loneliness which can result in depression. Anxiety can too be a result of too much homework. If student have a lot homework, they'll naturally get stressed or nervous about it. But too much homework could lead to anxiety issues (all from a Stanford research).
     What's the point of giving homework when given the option, students will copy? Then all in all, it really does have no purpose. Students will feel pressured to finish the homework they're given and if it doesn't end up getting done, they copy others for the credit. If that's the case most of the time, homework seems like it's quantity over quality. If we students do copy with given the chance, what does it help? If the homework was given to help us learn, then what is copying doing for us? If teens and children start to copy homework, they'll more likely than not try to copy on tests which will have a larger punishment than copying homework (Potential Harm a of Homework).
     As much as teachers would like to think it does, homework haven't been proved to serve a benefit to students. A quote from Alfie Kohn states, "no evidence that any amount of homework improves academic performance. The result of doing homework for several hours for every class every week is extremely slight and the classes in which there was more homework didn't have better results. Phil Lyons, a social studies teacher noticed that as he progressively stopped giving homework to his students, they started to "seek out more knowledge." Phil stated that without homework, "each year my students have performed better on the AP economics test." The National Assessment of Education performed an experiment on the impact homework has on test scores for fourth graders. The study showed that the students who did no homework got about the same scores as the students that did 30 minutes each night. Those who did 45 minutes or more of homework a night actually had a decline in their test scores (all from Aflie Kohn).
     Some say homework is needed to exercise and refresh the brain, but does it really do just that? 56% of Stanford students reported that homework was the main reason for stress (Alfie Kohn). Students also feel completion is more important than quality, so they feel rushed to finish the homework which causes more stress. From my personal experience, working seven hours a day, five days a week at school, then at least two more at home is extremely stressful. That's if you don't have a job to focus on too.
     So does homework actually enhance our ability to learn? Or is it only a waste of time? Beside the fact that most just don't want to do it, it can cause many stress and health issues in teens and homework should be at a minimum, or not at all.