Dear future president,

I used to love going to school up until the beginning of my high school experience. I got excited when I walked through those doors and saw my friends waiting to start the school day. But, my freshman year, my eyes opened to a whole new world, and I started noticing all the flaws of the school system. I dreaded the thought of going to school at all. I know that across the country, students and adults are also noticing the same flaws; like homework, sleep amount, grades and tests; in their communities school district. The school system in America needs to be changed for the benefit the greater needs of the student population by getting rid of homework, starting later, and also getting rid of grades and tests.

First, homework in schools should be limited or eliminated to reduce stress This will give students more time to get involved with extracurricular activities and strengthen relationships with friends and family. With the amount of homework high school students receive on a daily basis, they barely have enough time to maintain a social life and also get enough sleep. On average, students stay up late because of the amounts of homework given. When they do eventually go to sleep, they wouldn’t receive the advised nine hours they need to stay healthy. This causes students to be drowsy at school and unfocused because they are lacking sleep.This then causes the student to receive more homework because they failed to pay attention in class. It is often said that homework is given out so that students can continue their learning at home and not lose any important information given to them in class that day. I do agree that it helps students to continue their thinking outside of school, but we get so much of it that it defeats the point of having it in the first place, in that it is more hurtful than helpful. In Finland schools, they don’t receive any homework at all, and Finland is the number one country for education. This comes to show all the things our country is doing wrong related to education. If students didn’t have as big as a work load, they would have more opportunities to make friends and find their calling in life.

Next, with the amount of homework students are receiving, school is starting way too early. Usually, homework makes students stay up past 10pm and usually school starts at 7am, which causes students to wake up at 5am. Each student would then get 7 hours of sleep, two hours under the healthy amount of 9 hours. With this lack of sleep, students have a hard time paying attention in class and their grades will suffer.

Lastly, to reduce stress schools shouldn’t hand out grades or tests. If there were no grades in school, people couldn’t be judged by how smart or dumb they are, everyone would be equal. In California, there is a school that doesn’t give out grades, tests, or homework. And they have the highest college acceptance rate. Do you know why? Students aren’t put under the stress of getting good grades or acing the test or turning in that essay by midnight. They actually have time to do extracurricular activities like joining the drama club or playing football or even hanging out with friends. At the same time I believe that tests and grades should be taken away from the school systems, I also believe tests and grades are a good way to make sure you understand what is going on in school because then you know if this course is easy or difficult for you. Colleges looking for high GPAs should give students applying for colleges a broad test to see if this person meets the requirements or not. School shouldn’t be about getting an A in the class. It should be about learning new things and creating new experiences, not about the grade you get and you class ranking of smartness.

In conclusion, The way the school community are set up is causing students to be stressed at every hour of the day. In order to reduce stress, school systems should change the amount of homework given, the time school starts, and the complete elimination of grades and tests. If these changes are executed, the student body of our country will be relieved of a stress load that they were forced into.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Emily Herrmann