Volume 2.7 | Letter to the Editor

The last issue of the 107 brought up an important topic for everyone in our school communtiy: homework and the stress students felt at school. I agree that teens are stressed, and research compiled by author Jean Twenge has shown that “depression and anxiety (among adolescents) have risen at an unprecedented rate and…twice as many young teens commit suicide as just a few years ago.

However, excessive homework may not be the cause of student anxiety. Twenge found that students spend an average of 2 hurs less per week on homework than in the early 1990s/ They are also spending less time reading, doing community service and extracurriculars. working, seeing friends, dating, and going to parties.

You may be able to guess what are students doing with their time. Research on smartphone use found that teens in the US are spending an average of 6 hours per day on their phones. At ASFM, percent of students spend over three hours per day on their phone. Could our most prized possession also be the source of student anxiety? Twenge seems to think so. “Social media and electronic device use is linked to higher rates of loneliness, unhappiness, depression and suicide risk, in both correlational and experimental data.

I am a teacher who does not believe in homework, nor do I assign it. Arguing for the elimination of homework on the grounds that it does not help student learning makes a more convincing cae, and sounds less like complaining. If you want to cut down on homework time, put away your phone when you work, because the human brain can focus on only one cognitive task at a time. If you want to be happier, cut down on phone time and make more real life, face to face connections.