Most students can all agree that when it comes to homework, that’s the worst part of school. Why do we all think this? Most kids say it takes time out of their day so they can’t do other activities. But just how much time does it take up? Well, one student at Whippany Park did an investigation to figure this out. 100 students at Whippany Park were interviewed on how long they spend on homework on average each night. The results just might shock you! The options were 0 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, or 5+ hours. 25 students from each grade were interviewed, 13 girls and 12 boys. 

Starting off with 0 minutes of homework done a night, there are 6% of students who are under this category. 12% of seniors were under this category. 16.67% of senior boys and 7.69% of senior girls do not do their homework.  4% of juniors were also under this category, this consisted of 8.33% of junior boys. Then there were 4% of sophomores, and this consisted of 7.69% of sophomore girls. Next were 4% of freshmen, this being 8.33% of freshmen boys.

Next was 15 minutes of homework a night, and under this category there were 3% of students. 8% of seniors reported themselves under this category. This was 8.33% of senior boys and 7.69% of senior girls. Also there were 4% of sophomores, 7.69% of sophomore girls.

Following this is 30 minutes spent on homework, and 5% of students are under this category. 8% of seniors are under this category, 8.33% of senior boys and 7.69% of senior girls. 4% of sophomores, 8.33% of sophomore boys are a part of this category. 12% of freshmen do 30 minutes of homework a night. 16.67% of freshmen boys, and 7.69% of freshman girls are under this category.

After this comes 1 hour of homework a night. 28% of the student body at Whippany Park is under this category. 28% of seniors are under this category, 25% of senior boys, and 30.77% of senior girls. 44% of juniors are in this category as well. 50% of junior boys, and 38.46% of junior girls do 1 hour of homework a night. 8% of sophomores are under this category, 16.67% of sophomore boys. 32% of freshmen also do 1 hour of homework a night. 41.67% of freshmen boys, and 23.08% of freshman girls.

Moving on is 2 hours of homework a night, and 30% of students at Whippany Park are under this category. 20% of seniors, 25% of senior boys and 30.77% of senior girls. 24% of juniors, 33.33% of junior boys and 15.38% of junior girls. 48% of sophomores, 66.67% of sophomore boys, and 30.77% of sophomore girls. 24% of freshmen are under this category, 33.33% of freshmen boys, 15.38% of freshmen girls.

Then comes 3 hours of homework each night. Under this category is 19% of students at Whippany Park. 24% of seniors, 41.67% of senior boys, and 7.69% of senior girls. 24% of juniors, 8.33% of junior boys, and 38.46% of junior girls. 16% of sophomores, 30.77% of sophomore girls. 12% of freshmen, 23.08% of freshmen girls.

Next is 4 hours of homework a night. Only 2% of students at Whippany Park are in this category. 4% of juniors, 7.69% of which are junior girls. Then 8% of sophomores, which is 15.38% of sophomore girls.

Finally, there is 5 or more hours of homework a night. 7% of students at Whippany Park are under this category. 4% of seniors, 7.69% of senior girls. 4% of juniors, 7.69% of junior girls. 4% of sophomores, 8.33% of sophomore boys. 16% of freshmen, 30.77% of freshman girls.

This shows that the majority of students at Whippany Park spend 1-2 hours doing their homework each night. Which many people may say is reasonable, but is it? When being interviewed one student said, “If high school is trying to prepare us for life outside of school, then why do we bring work home with us? Many of the adults in my life come home from their job and do their chores around the house and other things that need to be done, not work from their job.” This student’s point is that students go home and on top of having to complete chores and participate in family activities, they are also expected to do homework. Many of the students in school, if asked, would say that homework takes them away from completing such tasks, or at least doing all of it effectively. 

Taking all of this into consideration, we could ask another question, which is: Is there really enough time in the day for homework? It is said that developing teens, such as highschoolers, should get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a night. Then, at Whippany Park, we spend 6 hours and 35 minutes in school. But what about food? Well, doctors say people should eat ideally for 30 minutes. So 2 meals outside of school would be another hour. But let’s say you take the bus to school, for some students you need to be out there waiting at 7:30. That’s 40 minutes until class starts. Suppose you take the bus home as well, and you get home at 3:15. That right there is another 30 minutes. Some studies also show that on average 2 hours are spent with family a day. Also we can’t forget the average time it takes to get ready in the morning, which is between 11-30 minutes, but we’ll go with 30 for the sake of those who take longer. Then there’s a 10 minute shower. Following this could be the 12 minutes on average it takes to get ready to go to sleep. All of this in total is about 20.12 hours. This leaves 4 hours in the day. But it does not include kids who are in clubs or sports, kids who do chores, or time to mentally relax. If you included that, suppose the club or sport ended at 4pm, and you took 10 minutes for mental health, and 10 minutes to drive home. Now you’re at 21.2 hours of the day, which assumes you go directly from one thing to another, and it still does not include time for chores. However this leaves 2.8 hours in the day. 

So all in all, there is time left in the day for people to complete their homework. Yet will they? From what this shows, 6% of students just don’t do their homework. This could be because many students find it extremely difficult or stressful, or both. Some people do not have great places to even do their homework at home even though during Corona’s reign we were all home. Often students either forget homework, or they can’t figure it out. Sometimes even with teachers’ help it is just too stressful for some students to handle. Now with all of this information, I have one final question: What do you plan to do about this?