From the beginning of high school, students strap on their seatbelts and prepare for one of the most vigorous races of their lives – becoming successful. With the rare occurrence of a break, kids are expected to keep on driving as fast and as powerfully as they can in order to get into a “great” college, which would be followed by graduate school and then an actual job that would make a lot of money. In American society, common values include working hard, determination, and being so productive that free time is not even a question. However, this philosophy is taking a major toll on American college and high school students. For at least 40 years, America’s future has been steadily growing unmotivated, tired, and hopeless due to the overemphasis on performing well in school. This phenomenon is appropriately expounded in William Zinsser’s “College Pressures”, which takes a look at the top four sources of tension that cause these feelings of dejection and agitation. After reading this article, I came up with a few solutions to this national problem. It is time to switch the harsh, over-encouraging green light of education to a comfortable yellow one. In order to make this ideal transition, directors of education across the country need to primarily reduce the amount of out-of-class assignments, lighten the grading system, and incorporate days in the school year that allow students to express their thoughts about school and provide useful feedback. The first major step in healing America’s exhausted teenagers is to reduce the amount of homework they receive. Kids from the ages of fourteen to twenty-two alike are expected to play sports, join clubs, and hang out with friends – all on top of an average of three and a half hours of h... ... middle of paper ... ...ntegration of student-faculty conferences, educational facilities will become places full of smiling, bright scholars. As a current student in high school, it is very easy to see these issues in the education system. Each day I walk the halls beside exhausted zombies who debate whether they should use their lunch periods to get math help in the library or sacrifice a club so they could read a chapter of anatomy that is not even relative to what they talk about in class. Due to the ever-increasing competition and subsequent elevation in performance standards, kids’ academic and emotional prosperity is only going to get worse. When I am an adult and have children, there is nothing more that I would love to see in their long drives through high school than an improvement in the education system, so that they would not have to struggle through school my peers and I did.
79% of American middle school and high school students take part regularly in at least one after-school extracurricular activity. Many students participate in sports that can take up to 4 hours of their time, daily. Homework takes time to do after school and extracurriculars. If a student goes to school at 9:00 and gets out at 4:00, then goes to an after-school activity from 4:00 to 6:00, they will come home and have dinner from about 6:30 to 7:15, which means that they will probably start homework at around 7:30. This means that high school students will be up until about 11:00 finishing their homework, that’s without factoring in how much time the students will waste.
High school is another vast world where one can explore the depths of the teenage experience: the hell that lies in the dark, bottomless abyss and the ominous heaven with everlasting light and everything else in between. On top of this perpetual rollercoaster of emotions, there’s this other dark force that looms over the head of every student, the beast that devours all happiness in life: homework. Assignments can be tedious and are stacked on top of a student’s busy lifestyle, leading to sleepless nights and weariness. Homework causes an epidemic of stress and sleep deprivation resulting in overwhelming fatigue and ultimately deemed unneccessary for success.
87 percent of high school teens are not getting the sleep that is recommended for a healthy lifestyle. Because, school starts at an early time, the time for sleep is compressed to a point where their minds and bodies are not ready to be awake (Richter, Ruthann). Due to having cell phones teens are staying up later, after doing homework to check their social media account, talk to family members, and to catch up on the new they missed out on in school or while doing homework. With the academic stress that is put on to teenagers in this modern world that has so much to offer and not enough time to seek it all, many come home from various practices and jobs just to do four to five hours of homework from advanced classes or even extra work from level classes that are required in all schools. The school should reduce the amount of homework given every night
By the time a high school student is ready to start college there are endless career possibilities available. The question becomes college the key factor in determining how successful a person will be? In today’s rapidly advancing society, students are pushed to go to college, but college does not always build successful people. In many cases, a secondary education provides all the necessary skills for a person to become successful. Each year, taxpayers pay thousands of dollars to provide public services, including funding public secondary education for students. Using the funds for secondary education is a positive use of the money.
"I didn’t feel [stressed] until I was in my 30’s. It hurts my feelings that my daughter feels that way at eleven" (Ratnesar 313). This statement describes the intense issue facing the American Education System today. More and more students are spending a lot of out of school time on enormous amounts of homework. The overabundance of homework is putting pressure on the students, along with their parents. Our nation has steadily focused on after school studying to the point of possible exhaustion. In this paper, I will attempt to explain how educators are relying on homework as the major form of education, and how the amounts are too demanding on the students.
Many students who feel the pressure to succeed at the high school level have an unhealthy amount of stress. Students who feel this have been cheating, pulling all nighters, becoming depressed, and seeking relief in drug use, and self mutilation. On average in a recent study at Illinois high school students spend 3.07 hours of homework each night on just homework not including extra curricular activities(Jerushapope,2). Also in this high school students reported getting 6.8 hours of sleep each night, but 34.6% reported getting 6 or fewer hours of sleep(Jerushapope,2). Most high school students spend 2 hours of extra curricular activity each night thats not including homework so after those activities you have to come home and do homework and then you will not have a lot of time to sleep. Also most kids do not get a lot of time to spend with their parents during the weeknights. Some kids cannot even make it to the dinner table because they have so much homework and that is not healthy for the parents and their childs relationship. In ...
There is not a single person that has been to a school in the United States, whether public or private, that has not encountered at least one of the many cracks in this imperfect system of educating future generations. Hereafter I will lay before my readers some of these cracks that many students have fallen into, and in some cases propose possible common-sense solutions to make the lives of students and their teachers easier in regards to education.
It seems as though the majority of college students these days aren’t looking to further their education because it’s what they really want, they do it to please their parents, to be accepted by society, or because there’s nothing else for them to do (Bird, 372). These expectations have led to students being unhappy and stressed, and have pushed them into a school or a job that they don’t particularly care for.
In today’s society there is a great debate over homework and how it can affect student’s lives outside of school. Homework is defined as any tasks assigned to students by a teacher that is meant to be carried out during non-school hours to help them practice and prepare for their future. Since homework has been around for a long time it’s viewed as a tradition in most classrooms and homes and some parents even demand more of it. This controversy has been going on for many years; however homework is an useful tool that all teachers and parents can use because it build initiative in students, helps them improve on concepts, and helps student make meaningful connections with their own interest.
“Did you know that homework is one of the greatest causes of student dropouts and failing” (Kralovek 39)? Since the beginning of the twentieth century, homework has been a major debate in America. “At first, the brain was seen as a muscle that could be trained by learning from homework and people enjoyed learning at home. This enthusiastic spirit did not last long since during the 1940’s, Professor Otto explained that, ‘Compulsory homework does not result in sufficiently improved academic accomplishment.’ When Sputnik was launched in the 1950’s, the United States feared that Russia would dominate the world in technology if homework continued to be unnecessary. This incident has partially shaped our country to compete more with other nations. Yet again, during the 1960’s, researchers and educators feared that needless pressure on students was a symptom of overdoing homework. Educator P. R. Wildman wrote in the late sixties that homework does not meet its expectations when it blocks out social experiences, creative activities, outdoor recreation, and deprives students of their recommended daily sleep” (Cooper 34, 38). Today, homework continues to grow in need for students entering high schools and higher education; nonetheless, concern has grown over its benefits for all, especially elementary children. There are many necessary life skills that homework can provide for everyone, which must be used appropriately and in moderation. According to researchers, such as Harris Cooper, homework should be limited, even though research approves of its increased effectiveness as students grow older. Overall, America has witnessed major problems with homework overdoses because many of America’s families have become disrupted, the urge to improve test scores does not always come from doing homework, different ages deal better with specific types of homework, and problems with student behavior and attention in and out of school may arise.
When teachers and academicians look at students they see ambition, success, and discipline. For five days a week, as a student, I spend six to seven hours, sitting in a desk, striving to get the best education possible. I believe that high school serves a better benefit than detriment, but rather, academic success and personal development. It takes a combination of skills, organizing, prioritization, and concentration to achieve academic success and personal development. To be academically successful one must fulfill in becoming all that they are capable of becoming.Our contemporary generation is disintegrating and losing morals. Although, we have inspirational people who try to edify us to our true and insightful meaning. The keys to academic success and personal development does not happen overnight, but rather, a process that one should learn over the years.
Many students aren’t finishing their homework or getting enough sleep because every teacher assigns homework and we don’t have enough time or energy as young adults to get it done. “First was the stress experienced by the [ ] students as they tried to balance the demands of homework with extracurricular activities and the need for family time.” (Kralovec, Buell, 1).
Throughout the years, researchers have seen an increase in time for students spent studying and in school while there has also been a decline in time spent in active sports and out-of-doors activities over the past twenty years. ( 'Changing Times of American Youth: 1981-2003 '). Teachers assign students their usual daily pile of homework which leads to students feeling stressed as to what they must complete after school. Students are expected to manage their time according to their teacher’s schedule considering that they may not even be able to complete each assignment given to them. According to a study, students aged between six to seventeen spend on average a maximum of four hours each night completing homework. (By the Numbers: Homework).
Are the new standards and expectations the world has for teenagers really creating monsters? The amount of stress that is put on students these days between trying to balance school, homework, extra curricular activities, social lives, sleep and a healthy lifestyle is being considered a health epidemic (Palmer, 2005). Students are obsessing over getting the grades that are expected of them to please those that push them, and in return, lose sleep and give up other aspects of their lives that are important to them, such as time with friends and family, as well as activities that they enjoy. The stress that they endure from the pressures of parents, teachers, colleges, and peers has many physical as well as mental effects on every student, some more harmful than others. The extreme pressure on students to get perfect grades so that they will be accepted into a college has diminished the concept of actually learning and has left the art of “financing the system” in order to succeed in its place (Palmer, 2005).
A flower does not get to choose its garden, and neither does a child his birthplace, but taking advantage of the opportunities given should be a priority in any human. Nonetheless here in the land of the free too often the words, “I cannot understand my teacher, I am going to drop.” Or “This is too hard, I will take it next semester” enter the thoughts of the youth of America. In other words, these phrases characterize the mentally weak society that has been corrupted by overindulgence. In this case some of these kids do not even grasp the concept of work ethic; understanding how hypocritical this may sound coming from a college student, an undeniable truth must be stated. Higher education is no longer a privilege to obtain enlightenment. Instead