Opinion Article

It is winter break and time to celebrate and relax with friends and family, except for the piles and piles of homework that need to be completed by the time school begins again in two weeks. There is a book that needs to be read, a 3 page front and back math packet, two history chapters, and 30 biology questions to answer. That combined with the five necessary holiday celebrations and friend parties doesn’t sound like a very relaxed break. What is the point of having a longer break if we are just going to get tons of homework? We could just go back to school for all the time spent on homework!
Why do teachers load up the homework on relaxation time? This doesn’t only happen on one or two week breaks. This same predicament also shows up on long weekends of three or four days. Teachers need to realize that heaping on the homework only creates more stress instead of relieving it, which is the purpose of some of the breaks.
Many students end up doing their homework the night before school returns because they were attempting to enjoy the free time. This leads to many sleepy students, not to mention the projects and homework they were up completing. Projects turn out only so-so because sleep deprived teenagers didn’t really care anymore at midnight. Reading material is not understood because minds were wandering, thinking about everything else that needed completing. And some of the assignments weren’t even started while students tried to finish everything else on their plates.
Many teachers will say that this is the students fault for not starting their homework earlier. This might be possibly true; however, it is mostly because of the homework load that students receive. If students have other plans, like a vacation or a family reunion, there might not be time to do the work. Many students will end up with a pile of homework to do before they return to school. Sophomore Allie Johnson agrees with this statement, “It is partly my fault because I have poor time management skills. But I put off my homework so that I can use the extra day(s) to relax.”
Therefore, there needs to be a compromise. Teachers should back off the homework over long weekends and holiday breaks so students can have a chance to relax and spend time with the people they care about. Students should also attempt to knock out some of the homework at the beginning of breaks so that they won’t be so stressed towards the end of breaks. If teachers and students work out a compromise like this, homework will be completed with the best effort possible, and students will have a chance to relax. That sounds like a much better winter break.