Homework: The Age Old Debate

Micky Rai, Journalist

Everyone says that the amount of homework a student gets depends on the number of classes they take. This is not essentially true. Homework has been the bane of all students. Many students at Corona del Mar High School would rather hang out with their friends or watch tv after school instead of being stuck inside doing even more work.

Research from the National Center for Education Statistics found that in 2007 the average high school student spent around seven hours a week on homework. If we do the math that’s 1 hour and 24 minutes per day for a 5 day school week. A more recent study done by the University of Phoenix College of Education says that for high school students who typically have five classes to 6 classes that could mean as much as 17.5 hours of homework each week.

Ryan Saywitz, a 9th grader at CDMHS, says “on some days I spend hours on homework, and on other days I spend almost no time” while another ninth grader, Jordan Jasso, states she spends “around one hour every day.” But this is only in one school.

Derrick Lunsford, a ninth grader at Santa Monica High School, states “the maximum I get is an hours worth.” Luigi Manco, another 9th grader at Santa Monica High School, reported that he spends “2 hours on homework per day.”

These reports show that the amount of homework a student has depends on the number of classes they take and the type of classes the student takes. Complaining about the amount of homework has become a favorite past time for many teenagers nowadays. A quote by Jordan Jasso sums it up perfectly: “there should be a limit on the amount of homework a student receives, but overall homework is a good study tool that helps students.”