You wake up in the morning after finally having 8 hours of sleep, and then you realize you still have homework, which means no fun and no family time. Winter break is meant to be a time of relaxation and fun, but often times students feel overwhelmed with an abundant amount of homework.

Teachers should decrease the amount of homework given to students so they have time to enjoy their break and come back refreshed. The amount of homework given during the break is usually even more than homework assigned on a usual week. A poll on the Hawthorne Aviator News website indicated that 47% of students spent 5- 10 hours doing their homework. With the loads of homework given to students, many struggle to finish and enjoy time with their families. Those who have advanced placement classes and/or honors classes take longer to complete their assignments since there is much more. Senior Abanob S. provided some insight: “The homework is definitely extensive. I had some assignments due on Christmas and New Years day. I’ve gotten used to the workload, but I’d much rather spend time with my family. For instance, my older sister came to visit over the break, and I didn’t get as much time as I wanted to be with her.”

The University of Michigan completed a study on family life showing that the more time students spent with family, the better their behavior and success in life/school was (University of Michigan Health System). Also, homework is not the only way students learn. Excessive homework forces students to stay home and takes away the opportunity for them to learn new things in the real world. With the burgeoning technology, students are able to learn more because information is at their fingertips. A Stanford study showed that countries that assign less homework do better than the countries that do.

To help you understand the amount of homework given to students during the break, I interviewed two sophomores that wanted to stay anonymous. One student had AP World History and the other student had regular history. AP World History’s homework was to do three outlines and watch three videos online while the normal history class had a study guide to complete for a test and a reading outline they had to complete. The AP World student stated, “I spent a whole week doing my AP World homework. It was very stressful. ” Now, keep in mind that this student spent a week doing homework for just one class. Imagine the rest of his or her classes. The normal history student did not spend as much time on their homework. Instead, they spent only about 3 hours on their assignment. Some may argue that AP students chose to take the class knowing the workload behind it. This is true, but there is a clear difference between beneficial and excessive homework.  During the break, HMSA students spent most of their time doing homework instead of having fun, relaxing, and spending time with their family.

Although homework is necessary, excessive assignments turn the much needed practice to an undesired chore. Students, parents, and teachers should all enjoy their break and spend time with their families without the need to worry about homework.