October 21, 2016

Dear Future President:

Homework is a serious issue/topic in the U.S. because students will be assigned hours of homework every night, but that is not fair to the kids who have other responsibilities after school, like taking care of someone, sports or even jobs. Another reason homework needs to be taken away is that students need the sleep. These reasons make homework elimination important because, one, students are busy with helping out with taking care of family members, and so stressed out with school, it results in drop-out. And that is not healthy for our country. Also, students get home around 3-4:30 p.m. Then if they have work, they work til about 9, then do their homework and finish around 11. Then have to wake up about 7-7.30 p.m., and lack in class, due to staying up late. This mostly impacts kids, teenagers, perhaps college students and their families. How would you feel if you needed help from your kid but they can’t help you because had four hours of homework to do? Personally, I am impacted from this too because I get hours of homework every night; however, I have to work 4-10 PM almost every night. It is the overwhelming thing in my life.

Homework should be taken away here in the U.S., because, since kids go to school 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week, they slack in class because they were staying up all previous night getting homework done. According to Valerie Strauss, ”...also, no relationship was found between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as “pointless” or “mindless” in order to keep their grades up.” This researcher is saying that the amount of homework given to students is to much, and that students feel pointless in doing homework and feel to do it only to pass. This has to change because kids don’t even have time to rest not even to mention the fact of doing what they want. Students need less homework because the only way to be successful is doing something you enjoy.

Homework needs to be banned here in the U.S. because kids go to school for 6-8 hours a day and might have to work all night afterwards, have sporting events to attend to, or even have to take care of a sick family member. According to Cory Scott (student), "I already go to school for eight hours, but I also have to go to work every day, I don't get home until about 11 on work nights, and then I have to eat dinner and shower, so I don't even start my homework until around midnight. Needless to say, it's pretty exhausting." What Cory Scott means by this is that he has work and is busy with home life afterwards, that means he has no time for homework. This is getting out of hand, and I don’t think that the students who have to do other stuff after school are getting fair opportunities.

Although, some may say students don’t get enough homework and they should probably get more because it helps to increase their education, this is not true. Students slack in class because the lack of sleep. Teachers want to complain to parents that their student isn’t doing well in class because not doing/turning in homework, but teachers have to take some of the fault. Students have busy lives, as a matter of fact; they are busy with work, family problems/events and even sports. They have to eat dinner and take showers, but teachers have a whole quarter, to update grades, but a student has a week. How is that in any fairness?

This topic needs to be brought to action and someone needs to do something about it as quickly as possible, which clearly, the best person for the job would the you, future President. To fix this issue, bring it up in schools. If people hear this being talked about it, then they might agree and they will make the issue noticeable. So I think what they can do mainly is to just bring it up in public for people to hear.

The amount of homework given to students in the U.S is a serious issue, and I say it needs to be outlawed. According to an article on Issues and Controversies, “Excessive homework has led to a fatigued and stressed student population, and studies prove that homework does not advance academic achievement in the United States.” I think that the banning of homework will benefit this country because students will be able to focus on work, family issues, and will be able to do more of what they want. Thank you future President for taking the time to read this letter that is very serious, and I hope I made you think more about this issue and that you will do something to help out the students.

Sincerely,

Tyler Clark