Opinion Opinion Opinion 15 FACE-OFF: THE HOMEWORK EDITION Too Much Homework is Not Beneficial
By Alyssa Bates Reporter
Students can handle a lot, and they do, but homework tends to push their limits and overwhelm them in a way that is no longer beneficial. Students receive mixed messages from school. First, teachers and administrators encourage involvement in a variety of extracurricular activities. They tell students they need to look well-rounded on their college applications. Second, they push students to sign up for AP classes, as many as students think they can handle – and then add one. These two messages are in competition with each other, and it’s difficult to manage both. Have you ever heard of the Curse of Knowledge? This cognitive bias affects teachers. Essentially, they forget what it was like to not understand what they are now experts on. So, for a math teacher, 50 problems is not a big deal; it’s easy for them. But sometimes they forget how hard it was when they first learned it. Above all, teachers don’t understand the effect homework has. The problem is not simply the 30 minutes of reading that teacher just assigned. It is when that 30 minutes is added to 45 minutes of math, and 40 minutes of test corrections, and an hour-long reading guide. This accumulation goes on and on. Plus, this is ignoring activities and other time-consuming parts of our lives. Like a job, for example. The culminating effect of all this is an insane amount of stress.
Homework Leads Students to Achieve
By Taylor Belleville Managing Editor
I’ll be the first person to admit that I don’t always enjoy homework. I mean, let’s be honest: there are a million other things that I would rather do than AP Psych notecards or AP Econ reading. But despite my lack of motivation, I still do my homework, every single night. So many students say that they dislike homework because it’s tedious and unengaging. Newsflash: homework is not meant to be fun. If homework was fun, it wouldn’t be homework; it’d be Netflix. The sole purpose of it is to facilitate learning outside of the classroom and to provide an extra means to master whatever topic is currently being taught. When students are only in a class for 68 minutes a day for three or four times a week there will be topics that they cannot fully master. Learning shouldn’t end when the school day ends, and homework ensures that that isn’t the case. Ultimately, the homework that students do now is going to determine their success in high school and beyond. Colleges may not assign a lot of homework, but learning the material is still required. A study done by Duke University in 2003 proved that the time management, positive study skills and responsibility that are learned through doing homework now are going to be the same skills that are put to use in college. So it’s up to the student – they can choose to do their homework now, or face the repercussions down the road.
The Addition of a New Schedule
Homework and Phones Don’t Mix By Brooke Beaman Reporter
Most of us have been there; sitting down in a chair, homework in front of us and a pencil in hand. Some of us accept our fate, some of us despise every second that we have to spend on homework, some of us do not even do the homework, and some of us complain about it. What are the complaints? Students often complain about repetition and time consumption. Repetition can be useful in most cases, annoying maybe, but still useful. We have all heard from teachers that it takes anywhere from six to 22 times of repeating something to remember it completely, and that is true. Doing something over and over turns it into a habit. I do not know how many times that I used the quadratic formula, but I am sure that I will remember it for the rest of my life. A problem for a lot of students, myself included, is the time we put in does not give us the amount of understanding we want. Actually, the time we say we put in does not give us that understanding. But more often than not, “working on homework” consists of listening to music, texting, or maybe even watching silly YouTube videos. What is a solution to this problem? Maybe, teachers can give out less repetitive homework that causes us to want our phones out to do these activities, but also we can put away the phones and start focusing on our homework. Four hours of homework can be cut down to one hour without these distractions.
THE ECHO Editorial Staff Adviser Bill Caulton Editors-in-chief Rachel Moore Colleen Fay Managing Editors Taylor Belleville Gabby Cress Social Media Editor Claire Rightley
Staff Members
Alyssa Bates, Brooke Beaman, Lauren Crosier, Sydney Johnson, Light Laleye, Josh Muller, Grace Oliver, Laura Reynolds, Priya Shields, Hailee Smith, Gabby Swopes, Brenna Tiffany
Policies
The Echo exists as an open forum through which its readers can express concern and gain insight into local, national and international issues as they relate to Avon High School students or teens in general and as a place for student journalists to work in a professional environment. The Echo holds the viewpoint that no subject is too sensitive to discuss if done so in a responsible manner. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. The Echo recognizes that with this freedom comes responsibility. Journalistically, this means accurate, fair and objective coverage. A.) The purpose of the Echo is to inform, to entertain, to create interest and to evaluate. B.) The Echo does not express the views of the administration, faculty members, or the like, except in quotations or letters to the editor. The views of the Echo are not necessarily those of Avon High School students, parents, administrators or staff. C.) The Echo does not condone censorship or practice any policy of prior review. D.) The Echo will respond to complaints about accuracy, fairness and completeness of copy. When a report is found to be wrong or misleading, a correction will appear in the next issue of the Echo. E.) Letters to the editor are welcome provided they are signed. Under special circumstances, the Echo will withhold the names. However, the Echo will not protect the identity of the writer should a lawsuit occur. The Echo reserves the right to edit letters for libel and defamation, obscenity and copyright. The editor may also edit for length and correction of expression. F.) The Echo staff makes all of its graphics. We do not use clipart. G.) The Echo will be distributed in a manner to be determined by the editorial team. The Echo student subscription price will be included in book rental. H.) In the occurrence of a death of a student, faculty member or school staff personnel, a standard size obituary will run. It will be a short feature and include a photograph, if one is available. Cause of death will not be reported.
CARTOON BY SYDNEY JOHNSON FEBRUARY 2016
PAGE DESIGN BY TAYLOR BELLEVILLE