Homework

To students, teachers exist only in their classroom. In some ways, this is true of teachers as well. A teacher only knows a student based on what they bring to a classroom, who they are in that room.  It does not really occur to a teacher what their life is outside of that environment. With this in mind, some teachers also forget that their class is not the only classroom students visit in a day. An hour of homework is not much, but multiply that by 7 classes and students now only have a half hour of free time before 10 o’clock. In my high school career, I rarely bring work home. I do it in study hall or finish it in class. My teachers think about me as a student and the other things I have to do in my life. They assign just enough material to learn the subject, rather than an assignment every night. I am very lucky. I know this is not true for everyone though.

I have heard horror stories from less understanding teachers. They think their class is the most important in the school and they are infamous for assigning homework every night religiously. There is math practice in class and at home or a writing assignment every few days. Teachers drown their students with information, hoping they will absorb some of it. This is not fair to those that have jobs or chores at home or independent studies. They can not indulge in the things that interest them or the thing they have to do.

There is no blanket answer. It is not accurate to say all teachers assign too much homework or teachers do not assign enough homework. Teachers design their class the way they want them to be. Some think more practice is better while others believe in quality rather than quantity. There is no easy answer because everyone is different. I my high school career I have felt comfortable handling the workload I receive, but I know people personally that have become lost in their classes and watched their grades drop as they couldn’t keep up with everything thrown at them.