Today’s letter is from high school student, Sophia Warren, a 10th grader in Brooklyn, New York.
I Love School, But It’s Killing Me
by Sophia Warren
Dear Sara,
My name’s Sophia Warren (we’ve met before a few times now). I’m a sophomore currently at Packer in Brooklyn Heights, NY. Packer is a school that prides itself on the gifted children that attend it and the rigorous academics that they offer. For years I have spent hours on homework. Beginning in the second grade, I sat through standarized tests, I worked on handwriting, and filled out math work book after math work book.
When I was in the fourth grade, each student was assigned an “independent study project.” Most kids were told that they would be working on spelling, logic problems, etc. I was told that I would be writing a novel, working at least a half an hour on it every night plus completing my other homework. At first I was in love with the idea, happy to be exempt from spelling, but it soon took a turn and I found myself miserable and with writer’s block. I was just nine years old and I came home everyday, sat down, stared at my paper, and spent the next hour crying out of frustration. My mom had no idea what to do with me. She finally spoke to my teacher and said that although I had not been writing anything, I had in fact been thinking about the story. He said that my think was not work and that I would not be allowed to go outside the next day during recess and that I would have to work while everyone else had “free time” in the classroom. I spent four months of fourth grade sitting in the classroom at a desk and working while everyone else was permitted to have fun and run around. It did not seem fair to me and it still doesn’t. The finished product kept me up until almost five in the morning. The story was over 160 pages at completion.
I have always wanted to be a writer, but that assignment killed my love of writing for over a year. I figured that if it was that painful to write, I did not want to.
At the present, I spend over six hours on homework a night. It is only just
the beginning of the year and I have already realized that my social life will have to wait until the summer. Almost all of my friends are outside of my school and having six hours of homework a night gives me absolutely no time to see them whatsoever. I go out Saturday nights and work continuously all day on Sunday. I never get more than six hours of sleep a night. I have accepted already that this year I will have little fun, see my family rarely, never spend time with them, not see my friends as much as I would like, and not have nearly enough time to do the things I like. I love music. I’ve played the cello for years now and I’ve recently quit orchestra because I just didn’t have time for it. It was taking up free periods that I needed to complete assignments in. I also love to go the concerts, I love live music, I love booking shows, and I love being part of a community that revolves around excellent music. I find that internships I once had and loved now need to be discarded. I hate that things I enjoyed doing in the summer need to be shoved to the back of my closet until a year from now.
The saddest thing about all of this is that I truly love school. I really love it, but it’s killing me. I’m actually physically uncomfortable right now, my coloring is off, and I’ve already gotten the cold that I will have for the rest of the year. My immune system is already falling apart and I find myself drinking Emergen-C every morning just to keep me alive through the week.
Today I auditioned for the play. Rehearsals run for about four hours a day. I would get home at around seven-thirty every evening and then sit down to do all of my homework. Even the director doesn’t understand. She’s planned a tech rehearsal on Halloween! It’s a holiday! It’s a time to have fun! I put on my schedule that I cannot go to that and that I will not go to rehearsal on Fridays.
It’s healthy to have fun, is it not? It’s not fair that I don’t have time to read, draw, play the cello, see my friends, have dinner with my little brother, or go to the movies with my mom. I live in New York City. I want to submerge myself in its culture and learn from that and instead I spend everyday sitting in my room, slaving away.
A perfect example of the toll homework is taking on my life (and it’s only the second week of school!): Last night I sat down to do my French homework. French is one of my favorite subjects and I assumed the work would pass quickly. Turns out that I had to look up twenty-five vocabulary words, write sentences for each of them, and then write twelve sentences about the girl who sits next to me. I quickly realized that the work was going to take me a very long time. I begin to work and along comes my brother. He’s in the eighth grade, also at Packer. He’s also working on French homework. He’s struggling through his work as well and he keeps asking me questions. This is the saddest thing; we end up fighting! He gets upset because I tell him that I don’t have time to help him and to please stop talking to me and I get angry because he’s upset. I start to feel bad and five minutes later we’re both yelling at each other. My mom comes upstairs and we’re yelling and she starts yelling and my dad comes home from work and everyone’s upset. It puts him in a bad mood and the next thing you know, everyone is angry at one another all because of frustration about homework. I really wish this wasn’t the case.
I’m reading your book right now (there’s no telling how long it will take me though with this much work to do). I hope that I can just explain to my teachers. My teachers are always pretending that they’re conscious of the homework problems but they have the nerve to blame it on time management skills. They blame it on me! I am a fast worker and it takes me six hours. A boy told me just today that his history homework alone took him almost three hours last night.
I don’t want to hate school or learning, but everytime I say anything it is dismissed as irrational and an exaggeration. My teachers just don’t get it. I really wish they did because I find myself counting down the days until winter break already. I don’t have time to do anything I want to do. It makes me cringe to think about junior year and college pressure and the SATs. I have enough on my plate right now. My English teacher just gave us a list of TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY vocabulary words. TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY. That’s insane. We’ll be tested on it at the end of the year to help us for the SATs. High school has been a horror so far. I hear it gets worse. It makes me not want to go to college, which is really sad. I wish my mom would homeschool me, but not all parents have time for that or are qualified to do that. I wish there was somewhere that let me do things I love. I think I am a smart person- not to boast or anything, but I really do think that I’m smart and hardworking. I’m a straight A student and I pride myself in that, but the kids who don’t do homework always talk about what they did after school.
My A is costing me my social life.
Thanks for voicing your opinion on homework. I wish there were more people ready to stand up for both children and parents.
Stop Homework 
in P.T period they don’t take in playground.
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Im only a freshman, but I have to agree with all this. My school is one of the more lucky ones- School ends at 2:30, I have one hour of clubs, and I have extra help. That makes it so I’m done with my school day at 4 pm. But, all my classes are Honors-I get at least 45-1 hour of homework a night for almost every class. Now, I have an A/B/C day schedule, so I get up to SEVEN hours of homework on a Friday, and up to FIVE on any other day. So, if I get home at 4, Im done with my homework at nine (this does not include dinner, social activities, chores, etc.). On the weekend, it’s a different story. I am very religious, so I cannot do my homework on Friday nights or Saturdays. Then, on Sunday, I have religious school, so I have to be up until ten to finish my homework for the next day.
My parents have screamed at me until I was sobbing with my hands over my ears because I still fail the quizzes and tests-I still do horribly in school because I cant think, Im so tired all the time I just cant handle this.
School really needs to be changed
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I sympathize. When I found this website I googled ” I stress to much about school and I am depressed”. I have not done anything with my friends since september. I am a senior, and it takes 8 hrs to do my homework. I’ll be honest, if it were not for the SAT my workload would be like 2 hrs. The test is consuming my life. I am also filling out college applications and will be taking 12 AP tests. I HATE MY LIFE. Four months of this and I am going insane. Im do not have any solution to this problem. We all do this to ourselves taking AP classes. Im not here to whine, Im here to share how I feel because no one else wants to listen.
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Who knew school would be the death of me?
I’m a seventeen year old high school senior and let me tell you – it gets worse.
I take three online college classes in addition to my high school courses. I do this because I don’t have a lot of money for college. If I take college in high school, I can get those classes incredibly cheap, or even free.
I wake up at 6AM, and I don’t get home until 6:45 PM. I’m a star student, and pour my life into school, but recently the homework load has been simply overwhelming (this is coming from a person who adores learning, school, and being busy). I am sometimes up until midnight trying to turn in homework before it’s stupid due date.
I don’t come from a wealthy household, so I have to work to pay for my own car, my own college, and so on and so forth. So I work Saturdays and Sundays. When I get home, guess what I’m doing? Tests, essays, discussion boards, research, peer reviews.
This means I’m doing something every single day of the week. I’m never at home for a full day at a time.
School has absolutely drained my life of all the things that make it worthwhile. It has obliterated all my friendships and relationships–and forget my dreams of writing a book. I even had to put my art to the side. I airbrush t-shirts as a way to make money and allow my art to flourish, but I haven’t been able to airbrush a single shirt since the beginning of the school year.
I don’t have any time to spend with my family, have horror movie marathons with my friends (which is something I used to love to do), skype my long-distance boyfriend, write, draw, or even freaking sleep. I’ve even gone a night or two without having a shower because I legitimately don’t have the time! Sometimes I forget to eat several days in a row because stress is eating me from the inside out. Seriously–how is that fair?
And – what’s even more sad and terribly unfair? – I still have trouble even finishing my homework on time and passing. I was afraid I wasn’t going to graduate high school this year because I was only barely passing my COLLEGE classes–one slip up and I would fail. (Yes, if you fail certain college classes in high school, guess what? You don’t get those credits–which means you don’t graduate). So while the people taking BS classes and not trying are graduating, I’m over here watching my life drain into school and still not graduating because homework has consumed my life. Tell me that’s not messed up?
Depression, anxiety, cutting–school was a major contribution. It took away all my friends and the healthy aura within my household. I’m trying to pull myself out of this hole, but it’s hard when I don’t have a choice if I want to graduate. I’m backed against a wall. Thanks, school.
So, I’ll graduate high school with 36 hours of college–I’ll be a college freshman. An outstanding achievement, sure. But what will it cost me? My social life, my sleep, my freedom, the remainder of my childhood, my relationships, my happiness–hell! It’s not over yet, might very well end up costing me my life.
I understand why we need homework. But do we really need 10 page essays and 200 page chapters to read–in every single class?
Doing that doesn’t teach us anything besides how to BS our ways through an assignment to get finished as quickly as possible and not care about the material itself. We’re not learning anything this way.
Every day I tell myself, “Only one more semester. Just one more semester. Think about your mom. Think how she’ll react if you have to explain why her star student isn’t graduating with the rest of them. Think about your friends. Think about them graduating and going to college without you. Think about what colleges will think when you don’t graduate. They’ll never accept you. You’ll never get any scholarships. Think about your dreams. How are you going to fulfill your dreams if you don’t go to a good college? Just one more semester. Survive one more semester. Pass one more semester.”
It’s utterly overwhelming.
I am utterly overwhelmed.
This can’t be right.
Something needs to change.
Nick
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I think I’m dying. Slowly, but dying nonetheless.
I am hallucinating from lack of sleep.
I see bubbles. I started getting nightmares every. Single. Night. Two months into junior year. I’ve had a cough for the past 1 1/2 years. I have a headache that won’t go away.
My grades are dropping ad I’ve ceased paying attention in class. I get a migraine, nausea, and dizzy spells from trying to do everything.
I don’t even go to private school.
My EC’s are chorus, theatre, and dance- how am I supposed to get into college without any EC’s?
My best friend died a couple weeks ago, and my teacher won’t even give me an extension for my homework! They don’t seem to understand that even if I was mentally stable, I still could not get all 4 assignments you’ve given me done!
What do you mean, balance between social life and homework, or time management skills?
I’m not supposed to procrastinate? Well, I’m not doing it on purpose… when I can’t get the assignment that are due the next day done, how am I supposed to work ahead?
I get maybe four hours of sleep on a good day.
I’m so tired of being sick.
Something has to change. I can’t work 30 hours a day (yes, I said that, because I feel like that’s what teachers expect)
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I think it’s horrendous how so many kids are suffering…
BUT, unless I misunderstood, the only reason y’all are suffering so much, is because you’re trying to get A’s and B’s? I agree with Sarah #13; it’s NOT terrible to be a B or C student at all!! That’s my average, and I’ve never heard of spending hours and hours on homework before in my life. Look, my opinion might be biased, but the fact of the matter is that as long as you graduate with a diploma, you’ll still get into college!!! It’s not the end of the world if you’re only an average student. I feel awestruck people take this so seriously!
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i wish tere was no homework
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i love sex
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I feel the same. I am an overachiever. My parents pressure me to be the best, and though my rank is #3 out of 1000, I can’t help but cry about not being #1. I can’t start my homework and I have so much. I don’t know what to do… I think I may be bipolar but I’m scared of asking for help.
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So my only question is… Where is this girl now? How did you get through it all? This post was made in 2008 so it’s been 7 years almost since she felt this way. How did you achieve your social life and school and work schedule without sacrificing one of the three?
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This is true! I have a lot of homework 2 I’m just in 8th grade. In all adanved classes. I spend 7 hours and 20 min doing my HW each day and studying . I never have time for my self. Sometimes I’m so tired I go to sleep and wake up again at 3:00 am to study. The worst thing is my mom doesn’t appreciate my hard work. She says I do nothing all day. She wants me to take all honors in high school.
I’m tired, of school.
I’ve lost my appetite.
I’ve developed insomnia .
I hope this is worth it for the future.
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How do you guys even stay up late to do your hw while not falling a sleep
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Hello
I really liked this discussion and thought i would like to add to it. Throughout my life I have always been competitive in my school work, like other hard-working students. When I first went into middle school I remember feeling so enthralled in the idea of learning because I would be able to learn separate, specific studies (like Pre Algebra, Language Arts, ect.) Towards the middle of the year I felt overloaded with work and I realized that I would have to work even harder and put in more effort. Long story short, I am now in ninth grade and have recognized now how middle school was so EASY. This brings me to the conclusion that as the years go by the actual work being done is absorbed and the level is just becoming more advanced.
Some days I feel like school is a piece of cake but other times I become so depressed in my studies; it all depends on my perspective.
I have come to terms with my homework. The main change was setting priorities to what I actually wanted to do and then do my best in those areas. I absolutely adore my Biology class and I work even harder to understand concepts because I know that it is something I would like to major in. I still have a schedule of other classes which I love to pieces; knowledge has become my obsession. I still have nights where I stay up late but I don’t mind because I’ve learned to enjoy every bit of it. Now, homework doesn’t always feel so abstract from my life because I’ve incorporated it INTO how I live.
Anyways, I’ll conclude this saying to always find the good in your assignments and try to never complain; look optimistically,(kind of funny because I’m actually very pessimistic) school is a mind encompassing learning experience.
School life will always be an endless cycle of ups and moments where you want to throw your work against a wall and go to sleep hah, enjoy it. Everyone’s school life is different; it’s up to you to decide what kind of life you want.
TIP: I find having inquisitive conversations about topics relating to the subject with my teachers helps to understand something more thoroughly and also have a connection with your teacher. Overall, it makes school life nicer.
Good luck fellow students and sorry for the spelling errors in advanced 🙂
I am still wondering if the writer of this letter could respond and tell us where she is now, and how work has effected her. That would be interesting…
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I hope she tells us how she is now as well, I am an actress, rehearsals kill me I get home from school I go to get my brother I change out of my uniform then I go to rehearsal which lasts from 6-9:30 most nights sometimes they start at 5. I live 30 min away from my theatre getting home at 10 taking a shower and doing homework from around 10:15-4:30 if I am lucky, this is ridiculious I find myself depressed I can not take the stress
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I was curious to see if there were any new comments, and both the 8th grade Anon and the actress Anon replies made my jaw hit the floor. Do you people truly stay up past midnight, and then wakeup throughout the night to do HOMEWORK?
Seriously, please please tell your parents to take you out of advanced classes. Your replies almost made me want to cry. What ADULT works those kinds of hours?!
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Or tell them to read all of the horror stories on this page!!! It’s so cruel that anyone would force kids to do this.
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CARRY ON THE FIGHT IN 2015 AND ONWARD!!!
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Katti saru chola mar mate khawa
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Hi im a 14 year old boy and i have a problem. Apparently being too smart for the school is a punishment. I get 4x more hw then anyone else. And its just stressing me out. And im only in the 8th grade
. It sucks and i can deal with it anymore
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This honestly shows me that the homework problem is nationwide. I am a senior in high school. All honors and AP classes, Clubs, all the good stuff so you’d say. I get homework from all 7 of my classes. Sure, it wasn’t too bad at the beginning of the school year, but as we inch closer to AP tests and such the homework gets more intense. Teachers don’t understand that the students who have the upper level classes have so much homework we dont have time for anything else. I also participate in the Red cross club, where i have volunteering hours to complete, and another club where i have to prepare for regional, state, and national competitions for my architectural class. Teachers also don’t understand that the students planning on going to college who are financially unable so to say, are applying for scholarship after scholarship. I am physically and mentally stressed out because of it and it is taking a long term physical tole on me. I know this fight won’t do any good my me this year, but continue the fight for less homework for future generations!
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Gabriel I may not be able to help, but you can find a group of students and write a petition. I have the same situation in Honors Spanish 1 and the teachers are really unfair to us. Good Luck everyone!!!
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This doesn’t describe what I currently go through and I am glad for that. That sounded terrible and I have a buddy that is the exact same way, stressing over his homework and classes, taking all AP course. My brother is a little better, but he despises the AP courses with a passion.
I’m a failure at school, no if ands or buts about it. After going through something like this during Sophomore year of High school (Senior now) I basically quit trying. Two hours of homework a night, one hour of reading a dry text book and another hour of more homework. Well… I burnt out right quick and just accepted Ds in my AP or honors.
I want to say its nice to see you kept to it, doign all your work, but the cost doesn’t really equal to the benefit for what you got in return.
I am in the “dumb” people classes now. You know, standard classes that teaches a skill like mechanics, strength training, or cooking, instead of a core class. Sure I get straight As in all of them, but well… not too hard to cook, lift weights, or build an engine so they don’t count. Only challenging class, if it can be called that, is German 2 and I do the half hour of homework in class while the teacher’s talking.
Though, i can’t say I’m not happy even though I have no idea what the hell I’m going to do in the future. Sure there is an underlying hatred for school now that consumes me every time I get up at five in the morning with the constant reminder I’m a failure every time I enter the classroom and probably will never amount to anything past labor because I don’t have the ability to succeeded in college. But now that I’ve accepted I’m an idiot and not going to get any better, I have so much time to just write or be creative. I feel that it was the right choice for me, but on the other hand was not the right choice for me.
I wish you luck in whatever field you decided to go into, I’m sure with your work habit, you will be among the top in your class. if you didn’t go to college, I also wish you luck in climbing the job ladder to the top or finding something you love.
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@Joe Do you realize that you could still go to a state college or even a CC first with those grades?
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Will ‘y’all quit being such whiny little brats!?
Everyone has to do this whether they like it or not.
People in the past have been able to make it without peoples help and no one cares about your education eccept for you so you should just step up and do your freaking homework. Your parents probably did and they survived so…. What does that tell you!???
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This is a new age, everything changes over time. Our parents didn’t have to do the work we had to. In fact, back then, almost anybody could teach. Some “teachers” never taught, just told the students not to disturb them. The work has become harder and it seems as if the teachers are competing for who can give the most homework. Add the fact that they don’t teach (if you want to learn anything, you must look it up yourself) and hand out work instead.
Ever since I’ve started to go to PJA, my grades have gone downhill. At public school, I’m an A student and even considered many times for the gifted program. Now, I have gotten my first C’s on my report card and needless to say my mother was not impressed. She blames me saying I’m not focusing. I spend every minute I have on homework aside from chores and the necessities. My social life used to burst but is now nonexistent due to the fact I have no time. My hobbies like reading have been neglected so I can try to keep up with my homework.
I love school, (not so much now) but now I’m starting to count down every minute until I’m out. Then I have to prepare for school over the summer, and hopefully a job so I can buy a car. Which is discouraging to me since I’m only in 8th grade (13 yrs old) and have years until I’m out of high school; plus college. I’ve never really written anything until I came to Pensacola Junior Academy (PJA) and now I’m expected to write a story (30,000 words for an A) in less than a month with a few days notice to plan it out. I want to be a writer but I’m not so sure now, all I can do is stare at the page stuck. !4 days are down with 17 left to go, and all I’ve got is 10, 791. All I seem to achieve is a major headache from stress. Don’t even get me started on math. I’m on chapter 5 but don’t get the questions on tests. The math book doesn’t help at all because those type of questions aren’t on there.
Yes, we do need to deal with our problems but sometimes it’s turns out better when you get advice and encouragement. So, yeah, I’m in a roadblock and needed to vent my frustration somewhere resourceful. Thanks and good luck!
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Good luck in college if you can’t handle high school work. College professors couldn’t care less about your work load, they just want you to complete their class with a decent grade.The real world doesn’t care about your health or happiness. You can’t go through life thinking that everything is going to be easy. That’s sad but its how life works. You’ll soon learn that. I wish my very best of luck to you throughout the rest of your high school career.
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And keep in mind that most adults don’t get three months of summer or a long Christmas/ spring break to enjoy themselves. When you’re complaining about not having a childhood, remind yourself of what you spend your summers, breaks, and weekends doing. Your whole life isn’t a vacation.
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I am sick of homework I spend like 8 hrs at school and 4 hrs at home doing home and now i had to quit my favorite sport doing it. There is already school we dont need more at home. The most hrs of sleep through out the school year on weekdays was 9 hrs the average is 6. I barely see my family or friends any more. All i do is work my ass off get C’s and they dont apperciate how hard i work and tell me i do bad. And teachers are not teaching us when wear at home. WE SHALL START A REVOLUTION ON THIS FOR WORKING OUR ASSES OFF AND DESERVING NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I’m in 8th grade, and I personally believe that it’s sad that all of us students have to suffer through this workload. Right now, it’s close to the end of the year, and I have 2 projects, an exam review packet, and pages of Algebra I homework all at once. I can empathize with the orchestra part– though I won’t be quitting orchestra any time soon, I don’t exactly have much time to practice, which is taken as a grade. I think we would all be more inclined to learn and at least a smidgen happier about coming to school. Onto the subject of teachers, there’s definitely the teachers no one likes who give a ton of homework– if we’re talking specifics, an ELA teacher. She gave us multiple projects on the same day, all due around a month later. You’re likely thinking, well, that’s plenty of time! No, it wasn’t. A few other students as well as I were waiting to finish the book (it was ‘Night’ by Elie Wiesel), as there were many questions that simply could not be answered without finishing the book. She wouldn’t let us take the books home, so it was impossible to do while at home. We are now studying Shakespeare, and she gave us one day to finish 5 pages of research on the Roman Empire//Julius Caesar. Most people hadn’t even started. Onto Algebra I; many people are failing the class and retaking it. My parents are making me retake it, though I have a B in that class (currently). It is extremely stressful to remember all of the equations needed (ex. Quadratic formula), and to get all of the homework done on time. Little to no extra credit is offered, but the EoC is worth 20% of our final grade. This is pressuring to everyone, because we all want to pass the class (minus a select few), but there’s 9 chapters we have to review with at least 6 lessons per chapter. That’s 54 things we have to make sure we know before May 19th. That’s another thing– the Algebra teacher has made our EoC date earlier than everyone else’s, so we have less time to review.
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@ACollegeStudent Many of the kids commenting here say that they DO work over summer and the holidays and weekends!!! These kids have like 80 hour work weeks. In my opinion the real problem isn’t HW, but the fact that everyone’s taking advanced classes! What really extremely annoys me about all of this is that the parents seem like they could care less about their own kids. How could you watch your kid doing hours and hours of work and not do anything or care?
All of you have convinced that when I have kids they’ll be going to an ordinary public school, and if they’re C students I’ll be totally fine with that.
@SickandTired, you must be like a kid genius if you can write that well and you’re only 13!!!! I think it’s terrible you have to spend so much time on schoolwork when you could be doing something that would actually really engage you instead.
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Let’s start a revolution. homework is ok but to much homework is a crime. Screw teachers that give to much homework as it is unnecessary, I have not been finishing my math homework for a year and I’ve been getting an average of 70%. Tell your friends that the revolution starts now, if we do t end this child abuse then who will. Not everyone was made to do well in school so why force them.
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I am in an excellerated school program called LEAP even though i have no clue what it stands for, anyways i am doing homework right noe and i have to do 20 questions about Chile 4-5 sentences each, an essay abou the weather in Helsinki, Finland, three book reports 7-8 sentences each. ALL DO TOMARROW!!! And i am only 12 years old. is it just me or does seem like a bit too much?
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I am in an excellerated school program called LEAP even though I have no clue what it stands for, anyways I am doing homework right now and I have to do 20 questions about Chile 4-5 sentences each, an essay abou the weather in Helsinki, Finland, three book reports 7-8 sentences each. ALL DO TOMARROW!!! And I am only 12 years old. is it just me or does seem like a bit too much?
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Hello I am 12 years old. I’m in 6th grade and I had a project that we had to do sometimes for homework and it was a group project. No one except one other person in my group was cooperating so I had to do the work of 3 people. I had to pull off an all nighter and gather ALL THE INFORMATION cause the other person that was cooperating was formatting and making the presentation. And at the day of presenting, I had to explain everything. And this took away points! So my grade dropped from a 99 to a 92.8! I did everything I could to help us and my teacher was absent for almost the whole time! But I’m used to waking up early and having a little sleep, but no one in my group even appreciated it! They just said oh it’s finished. And the people that were not cooperating just went on snapchat all day while listening to music while my other group partner and I worked our butts off on the project! And you know what happened after that? Our teacher made us do another project WITH THE SAME PEOPLE! And I almost cried on the spot. I always came home to my mom crying because of this. I worked so hard this year. I had perfect grades but this project is killing me. Right now I have an A but because of this next project, my grade will probably go down to a B. I really hate this group project and I don’t want to go through it again. Does someone have any tips? Cause this group project was horrible. I had to wake up at 4:30 every morning trying to finish all the research for the project that my group mates were supposed to do. And when a substitute teacher saw them not doing their work and he politely asked them to do their work. Then when he turned his back, they stuck the middle finger at him! There are four more days of school but I’m still worried about this project cause it’s the same thing. Every group project is horrible for me because I end up doing most of the work. Please help is it going to get better because 6th grade is killing me! My brother basically gave up on eighth grade because he got into a good highschool but for one assignment, my brother needed my help for this painting because I am an art student, but it took up my birthday. I didn’t really care, but school shouldn’t take up valuable home time. Because of some of these projects, I get mental breakdowns. Also, these homework projects really affect my grades. My mom always says you tried your best and that’s okay but I rarely get to see my dad and what if I told him, sorry dad I couldn’t make it to the highest honor roll because of a stupid group project I did all the work in, he would probably say it’s okay but I will know that he will be disappointed. My family members think very highly of me and that’s sometimes a really bad thing. Especially for me and my brother because he thinks the highest of me than anybody. So I don’t want to let anyone down. These past few days, I have been thinking of this project. I’ve had nightmares and I would wake up at three in the morning and I would have an breakdown. I actually do love school, BUT THIS IS NONSENSE. all the other groups work together, they go over to each others houses and plan, they do everything together! But my group doesn’t work together! I just give my info that I did for everybody and give it to the one other person that’s working!!!!! EVEN IF THERE ARE FOUR DAYS LEFT I AM STILL WORRYING! HELP ME! Why does homework do this? ( this project was part of homework)
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i helpyou
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So, while I can empathize with the situation this 10th grader found herself in, I have to wonder if this sort of workload should be reduced? Honestly the work isn’t any less than what we’ll experience in the workplace as adults. There are deadlines, and high stress environments that we all suffer through and accomplish. So, my question for all of you is, should we send our kids into the fiercest competition for employment in history without some knowledge as to the extent of which their endurance will be tested? It is all compounded. You begin kindergarten with very little experience, if any. After that point, everything changes. You are given more work and are expected to accomplish said work in an allotted amount of time, all in preparation for the future. So why would we take away this valuable preparation? It is what gives us an advantage in the future. Can you imagine going into the workplace with no precedent? No experience. And no idea what to do? There is a reason why it is important for children to grasp these concepts prior to being thrown into the workplace. There is a sense of nobility in trying to improve the standard by which children lead their lives, but undeniably also a sense of detriment to their future well-being in leading them astray and denying them preparation. I would advise that the fight for less homework or no homework be limited only to the most prudent extent. How else are we to maintain the standard of progression that Western civilization has become accustomed to? And how else are we to ensure their financial and secular security in the future? While I know my opinion differs from that of the majority who have commented, I believe these points to be valid and it stands to reason that if prior to modern education that the limits of human comfort had to be pushed in order to achieve what we have that to lessen the work load now would put society in a stagnant state.
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A school like that would fit for any sntteuds who determine to follow their dream, such as drama, soccer player, or a mathmetician. But it would not fit for sntteuds who try to get good grades, and want to be good in anything. In my opinion, I think that I would definitely join in that school, where you can learn anything you wish, which gives many opportunities, and that you can have a choice between practicing your skills, or Not to practice it.It is more likely that many sntteuds wish that there would be an existing school like that.
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Yep, this reminded me of the fact that I have to read tens of books, even though I just can’t do it. Everyone thinks it’s because of video games, but it’s not. I just can’t read.
I tried reading 40 pages from a book and it turned out that I understood the story completely different (I needed to write the story on my notebook to get evidence that I did in fact read). So I gave up on reading and now I’m getting the movie of the book.
I would have actually read it if it didn’t require me to write the story down on a notebook.
-Bogdan
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Hi, I’ve just entered Grade 11. My school is in a smaller town(2 hours to the nearest small city) and we get stuck with a lot of crummy teachers, like those that use mottos like “Teaching yourself is what learning is”. My school was low on teachers so they were hiring anyone that they could, no matter who the character. Anyways one teacher sucked and ended up getting fired, so my Grade 10 Science was just given to me… I feel that I have so much more to learn, I just haven’t been give the chance and it sucks. Most teachers only worry about getting a paycheck and they just give you self-study so they don’t have to do anything. I don’t know if my handmade notes will get me through a test because I’m not sure if my research is correct. They make it due the next day but they don’t understand the time it takes to do the assignment or the difficulty of the assignment because they just get it from the Internet or from the previous teacher that had taught that subject They also have not tried the material out themselves or looked over it. I try my best and talk with the teachers and principal but that is all I can do for now and I am hoping things will get better.
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On Friday we started an assignment (self-made notes on specific herbs) and it was due on Monday. We had no previous knowledge on herbs except for what we already knew before the class. I worked my butt off to get it done in class but the one hour wasn’t enough. So I brought it home for homework, it took me an extra hour and a half uninterupted to complete it.
On Monday our teacher made us fill out a sheet (match the herbs to the medical problem it fixes) which was difficult because we were not allowed to look at our self-made notes and my notes didn’t match up with this assignment. I noticed that turmeric was spelt wrong on both sheets, it was spelt tumeric. I quietly told my teacher the problem (so she could fix it) and she told me “Is it? It’s not my fault, I didn’t make these. I got this from another teacher.”
It annoys me that assigned homework wasn’t even made, tested, or reviewed by the teacher before it was assigned.
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OK. here’s what i’ve got to say on the matter. Im only in the 8th grade,honors. at my old school IT WAS MORE ADVANCED than this one im at now. I used to get homework maybe 1-2 times a week AT WORST from a teacher.maybe 3. but know ive got 3-4 ASSIGNMENTS A DAY. from 1 teacher. if not that’s ridiculous than i don’t know the meaning of the word. than when i try to tell her i get a “oh well.” or a “not my problem” AS IM WIRITING THIS COMMENT ive got 4 more assignments. WHAT happens when you’ve got suff to do in life. i had to go run some errons with mom come back at like 7:00 and ive got homework and chores to do. I NEVER have time to do anything. my math teacher ALONE sends out HUGE worksheets everyday. in fact right now i’ve got 48 QUESTION ONE. not to mention the 100 QUESTION WEEKLY WORKSHEET. with other homework on top of it. and the problem is teachers act like its not their fault. WTF,excuse my language but WTF, Its utterly ridiculous. i just cant even…… SO MUCH WORK TO DO. every night i’ve got to stay up extra late. every morning ive got to get up at 6. THIS IS’NT WORKING. i need help. mom doesn’t care. i think im gonna snap. not even kidding. I just cant take it. I HAVE TIME FOR NOTHING. I just………. cant. this is to much for me and the other kids.its just too much.right now im in that same problem Its just way to much work to do i need some serious help. im starting to see why people drop out of school. BUT I LOVE SCHOOL im a poet and an author i WANT to go to college but this is crazy.
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OK. here’s what i’ve got to say on the matter. Im only in the 8th grade,honors. at my old school IT WAS MORE ADVANCED than this one im at now. I used to get homework maybe 1-2 times a week AT WORST from a teacher.maybe 3. but know ive got 3-4 ASSIGNMENTS A DAY. from 1 teacher. if not that’s ridiculous than i don’t know the meaning of the word. than when i try to tell her i get a “oh well.” or a “not my problem” AS IM WIRITING THIS COMMENT ive got 4 more assignments. WHAT happens when you’ve got suff to do in life. i had to go run some errons with mom come back at like 7:00 and ive got homework and chores to do. I NEVER have time to do anything. my math teacher ALONE sends out HUGE worksheets everyday. in fact right now i’ve got 48 QUESTION ONE. not to mention the 100 QUESTION WEEKLY WORKSHEET. with other homework on top of it. and the problem is teachers act like its not their fault. WTF,excuse my language but WTF, Its utterly ridiculous. i just cant even…… SO MUCH WORK TO DO. every night i’ve got to stay up extra late. every morning ive got to get up at 6. THIS IS’NT WORKING. i need help. mom doesn’t care. i think im gonna snap. not even kidding. I just cant take it. I HAVE TIME FOR NOTHING. I just………. cant. this is to much for me and the other kids.its just too much.right now im in that same problem Its just way to much work to do i need some serious help. im starting to see why people drop out of school. BUT I LOVE SCHOOL im a poet and an author i WANT to go to college but this is crazy.im freaking out man.
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i even had to spend my whole B-DAY to homework
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I believe homework should be a minimum of 20 minutes per class, considering there are 6-7 classes on a regular middle school or high school. My child started having problems with homework when she turned 8 years old. She had to stay up late to complete her assignments, staying up late cause her to have seizures (convulsions). I didn’t comprehend why she was having sudden movements. It was 12 midnight and she still was doing her homework. I love school so I was there helping her at the point to giving her the answers when I saw how tired she was. She started telling me, “mommy, I don’t feel well.” and shaking all over. I would lay her down. I spoke in several occasions with her teacher and her principal and they both only agreed that my daughter should managed her time wisely. I even was there with my daughter helping her on each step so she could complete her homework. It was just way too much homework and reading for a child her age. My daughter would tell me that her teacher started to hate her because I kept on going back to speak to the principal in regards to my concerns of her teacher giving her a hard time in class and giving her way too much homework at home. Her teacher would not let my daughter have recess time and kept her in class so she could finish her assignments from the class as well. My daughter was going through to much stress. The seizures lasted for two years. I asked her principal to change my daughter to another classroom and she said it would take time. I believe principals don’t care for what students have to say or for what parents have to say. They will always take the instructors side. My daughter loves school, she is always on top of ever assignment and or homework, now she enjoys school again but starting middle school. Homework isn’t a problem for her at the moment as she is only getting homework from Math, English and once in a while from science and History.
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I forgot to mentioned earlier that in an occasion when I met with the instructor to go over my daughter’s grades, as she was showing me that my daughter wasn’t completing her class assignments–I saw that half of the class wasn’t able to complete their assignments. When I pointed it out to her teacher, she was upset and said, “the point here is that your daughter isn’t managing her time wisely in class.” I believe instructors should first sit down and see how long it will take them to complete an assignment and not just assign homework or tasks in class knowing that the students won’t have enough time to complete them and then blame the student for not managing their time wisely affecting the students grades. I was going to take my daughters case further up to the District because the stress she was going through and the lack of sleep cause her to have seizures.
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Where I live, homework in primary school alone kept me up until 11 and I had to wake up at 6 every day. In secondary school I had crazy amounts of work but fortunately my school had this culture of not doing homework; people would just refuse to do and hand in homework unless we had a strict teacher. However we had tons of studying to do and my grades were falling behind because I couldn’t understand things and lessons were going way too fast. Throughout grades 9 and 10 I failed chemistry all the way but managed to get a B in O levels thanks to last minute tuition lessons.
After O levels we proceed to new schools and let me just say – it was a hellhole, and my school was already not that great. Homework wasn’t even possible to finish, and if anyone says “why do your parents allow this why don’t people complain??” – well, all I have to say is this is how it is. All students in the country go through immense amounts of stress. Don’t even ask me why I can’t be content with just a B or C, because we are literally struggling to pass. Yes, that’s right. We can’t even pass. On top of that we had COMPULSORY co-curricular activities and I was in the school band which I had to attend every monday and friday, and it would end at 8. By the time I reached home it would be 9, and it was even worse for people who lived further from the school. We also have to go for a inter-school competition that takes place every other year. In secondary school, people would cry over this competition. It’s a whole lot of stress and extra work in addition to our already stressful school work.
I’m a very average student there, but when I go to other countries I’m considered as very smart (academically). Guess what country I’m talking about 😉
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Here, you can work your ass off and still fail. Spending 12 hours at school is the norm, last year I usually spent 10-14 hours at school. I study all day and fail, and I’m not even in the best schools or classes. I’m a very average student taking average classes (they’ll probably be considered very advanced elsewhere but where I live, average). The smarter students have extra programs and commitments; I have no idea how some people are able to do well and manage their commitments at the same time.
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Also (sorry last comment) @ACollegeStudent probably that’s how it is in America, and you guys are sure lucky, but here our holidays aren’t really holidays. We have lots of holiday homework, and we still have to go back to school for our co-curricular activity (CCA) which can be every single day during competition season. We have a lot of pressure to do well both academically and in the competition where apparently “silver isn’t enough”, and even in choir (which I was in during my secondary school years) we had to push ups, run, had tons of scoldings and punishment – it was as though we were in a sport CCA rather than performing arts. College looks a lot better than high school here.
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yea I experience that every day and im just in 8 grade
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I’m only in 9th grade and I just got my appendix out last Monday. I’ve been out of school since then, but I have spent entire days doing makeup work. It’s about 9:50 now, meaning I have spent 12 hours today doing homework, plus about 10 hours yesterday and 6 hours on Saturday and a few hours on Friday.
I am a straight A student and a fast worker: why, when I feel so miserable after my surgery, do I have to do this much work? I love school, but I don’t want to go back because I know a huge amount of work is going to be dumped on me.
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