Momework Must Be Banned.

I stared at the row of C’s and D’s on my yellow report card for the third time, head shaking in disbelief. It couldn’t be! Not after a quarter of all-nighters bent over my desk. My teachers all said that my homework grades had added up before returning to the piles of unfinished grading on their own desks. My parents weren’t satisfied with my explanation, even when I pointed out that many of my friends suffered the same plight. Most kids and adults hate homework, whether they’re forced to do it, create it, or grade it. So far, their has been no concrete evidence against it. Yet schools continue to assign homework despite its widespread hatred and general ineffectiveness. All these negative experiences prove that homework must be banned on all grade levels, by law, if necessary, for the well-being of all children and adults in our public school system.

The first major problem with homework is the amount of pressure it exerts on kids. The stress is unpleasant, of course, but this stress also proves detrimental to their health. One problem associated with extraneous stress is sleep deprivation. Sleep is essential to virtually all body functions, both physical and emotional. Kids of the 21st century, however, simply do not receive adequate sleep. In fact, the average teen is only able to sleep seven hours a night, though nine are recommended. No wonder kids doze off in class! Many would love to blame this on the kids themselves. But actually, the most teens can’t sleep until 11 o’clock due to their circadian cycle, regardless of their efforts. And with the help of stressful homework to keep them up even later, those who do get to bed will be kept awake for hours with stress-induced insomnia. In addition, stress serves as a cause ...

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... of homework, whether excessive or limited, builds the drive to gain knowledge, proving it is fundamentally useless for any purpose in education. Discipline, on the other hand, could use homework as an effective strategy to gain compliance. But that’s about the only place homework has any use.

The variety of harmful affects stemming from homework in any amount prove it must be banned in all grades, K-12, to save our school system. Banning homework deserves first priority in our educational system. School systems across the country have already begun to catch on, though homework remains a wide-ranging problem. Together, our country can end homework for all kids and drastically improve the quality of American education, giving them a better education to thrive in the fast-growing world of the 21st century. To give children this opportunity, homework must be banned.