Making stress disappear
You’ve heard all about it, students that are cramming the night before because they have a
homework assignment to hand in. Stressing over homework requirements, coming exams
and experiencing the constant demand for high academic performance. Coping with stress
has become a natural habit for students of all ages. I’m a student as well and I can’t handle
stress, but of course I’m not alone in this battle of getting enough sleep and performing well
in school. Eventually, I started clearly seeing that homework is just another addition to the
burdens we carry as students. Also, the time I invest in homework and preparing for exams
could be of better use. The toll that stress has on our ability to be motivated, getting good
quality sleep and learning, is terrible. However, if schools ban their homework requirements,
they will definitely lift the heavy weight off our shoulders. And that’s why all schools should
ban homework requirements.
Firstly, homework is a major stress factor among students of all ages. The students
nowadays are experiencing a rising amount of stress caused by schools. Homework is the
number one cause for stress by students in primary and secondary schools. Furthermore,
when it comes to stress among students homework will take the lead in contrast with social
media (Cijfers over prestatiedruk | Nederlands Jeugdinstituut, z.d.). That sounds weird right?
We see that the statistics are on the rise and it's crucial that this needs to change. Also 65%
of students experienced stress caused by homework. And one-third deals with the pressure
to perform. The numbers are increasing as the students get older. As a high school student,
I’m no stranger to knowing how intimidating never ending deadlines can be.
Secondly, the load of homework significantly impacts students' motivation. Making
homework starts with the struggle to find motivation. We students often feel intimidated by
doing homework. This feeling is caused by the amount, and if we find the subject
challenging. An excessive amount of homework can be seen as demotivating. This leads to
frustration and stress, especially if you feel overwhelmed by all the other things you need to
do besides school. Like others I realize that I often aim to do too many things and set too
high expectations myself. But we need to acknowledge that we, the students, are still
learning how to cope with things. After all, we want a social life without extra time for an
overwhelming amount of assignments.
Thirdly, homework disrupts students' sleep patterns, a crucial thing for their well-being.
Teenagers are an easy target for sleep deprivation caused by hormonal changes, stress and
social activities. There are a few shocking figures about how teenagers sleep. For example,
42,7% of all teens sleep too little and 19,1% sleep less than 6 hours. These numbers are
caused by the fact that stress affects our sleeping time. However, from a good night's sleep
your memory will benefit and you will remember things more easily (Hersenstichting, z.d.).
But eventually sleep is very important for physical and mentally healing.
Fourthly, Homework can be seen as a tool to prepare students for the real challenges, but an
overload can result in a burnout. As a student you learn to cope with deadlines, time
management and the amount of work. But besides all this you also learn to have discipline.
That’s something that I personally recognize as an area where I can grow. It's hard to find
your focus when there are so many distractions. Furthermore, children can also suffer from
burn-outs and the amount is still rising (Kinderpsycholoog Marijke Amsterdam-Centrum,
You’ve heard all about it, students that are cramming the night before because they have a
homework assignment to hand in. Stressing over homework requirements, coming exams
and experiencing the constant demand for high academic performance. Coping with stress
has become a natural habit for students of all ages. I’m a student as well and I can’t handle
stress, but of course I’m not alone in this battle of getting enough sleep and performing well
in school. Eventually, I started clearly seeing that homework is just another addition to the
burdens we carry as students. Also, the time I invest in homework and preparing for exams
could be of better use. The toll that stress has on our ability to be motivated, getting good
quality sleep and learning, is terrible. However, if schools ban their homework requirements,
they will definitely lift the heavy weight off our shoulders. And that’s why all schools should
ban homework requirements.
Firstly, homework is a major stress factor among students of all ages. The students
nowadays are experiencing a rising amount of stress caused by schools. Homework is the
number one cause for stress by students in primary and secondary schools. Furthermore,
when it comes to stress among students homework will take the lead in contrast with social
media (Cijfers over prestatiedruk | Nederlands Jeugdinstituut, z.d.). That sounds weird right?
We see that the statistics are on the rise and it's crucial that this needs to change. Also 65%
of students experienced stress caused by homework. And one-third deals with the pressure
to perform. The numbers are increasing as the students get older. As a high school student,
I’m no stranger to knowing how intimidating never ending deadlines can be.
Secondly, the load of homework significantly impacts students' motivation. Making
homework starts with the struggle to find motivation. We students often feel intimidated by
doing homework. This feeling is caused by the amount, and if we find the subject
challenging. An excessive amount of homework can be seen as demotivating. This leads to
frustration and stress, especially if you feel overwhelmed by all the other things you need to
do besides school. Like others I realize that I often aim to do too many things and set too
high expectations myself. But we need to acknowledge that we, the students, are still
learning how to cope with things. After all, we want a social life without extra time for an
overwhelming amount of assignments.
Thirdly, homework disrupts students' sleep patterns, a crucial thing for their well-being.
Teenagers are an easy target for sleep deprivation caused by hormonal changes, stress and
social activities. There are a few shocking figures about how teenagers sleep. For example,
42,7% of all teens sleep too little and 19,1% sleep less than 6 hours. These numbers are
caused by the fact that stress affects our sleeping time. However, from a good night's sleep
your memory will benefit and you will remember things more easily (Hersenstichting, z.d.).
But eventually sleep is very important for physical and mentally healing.
Fourthly, Homework can be seen as a tool to prepare students for the real challenges, but an
overload can result in a burnout. As a student you learn to cope with deadlines, time
management and the amount of work. But besides all this you also learn to have discipline.
That’s something that I personally recognize as an area where I can grow. It's hard to find
your focus when there are so many distractions. Furthermore, children can also suffer from
burn-outs and the amount is still rising (Kinderpsycholoog Marijke Amsterdam-Centrum,
