It’s late at night, you look over to the side, and your head hurts from the amount of pending homework staring at you. You start lowkey, hating everything and everyone because you’re so tired. You desperately just want to sleep. What student hasn’t experienced this exhausting scenario?

Homework influences a student’s life and health. “It affects me because I have to stop whatever I’m doing to get it done. It gives me stress,” said sophomore honor student Daniela Gonzalez. Freshman Lizbeth Pavon said, “It takes part of my day so I don’t get to rest. I need my nap.”

Math comes up as one of the hardest subjects when it comes to the home learning. The many complex equations and constant combinations of letters, numbers, angles etc. can be overbearing for students.

Students are taught the math lessons at school, but many arrive home confused. When it comes time for homework, these students spend hours trying to complete work that frustrates them due to their lack of knowledge in the subject.

“Algebra 1 takes me about an hour to complete. It is frustrating, because it’s too much,” said freshman Dennis Fetel.

Most teachers believe that homework is good for students. “Homework allows students to retain the information. It also allows students to show what they know at home to improve their grades. I do believe that homework helps students learn, and it even prepares them for college,” said biology teacher Dr. Yoham, who also agrees homework can be is stressful, but it’s a necessity that needs to be balanced.

On the other hand, many students claim that homework is a waste of time. So what would they be doing other than homework? Some would be productive with their time, and others would relax their minds. For example, senior Felix Magris said, “I would be getting a job,” while sophomore Aileen Ramirez said, “I would watch Netflix.”

Surprisingly, some teachers are not big believers in homework. “Sometimes students forget to complete it. Although it’s a good method for practicing material, I don’t believe it allows me to effectively assess whether a student has understood a concept. My goal is for all my students to pass, and I would rather them complete assignments with my assistance,” said a teacher who chose to remain anonymous. “I absolutely think students get stressed by homework. If they’re balancing class and activities and if they have a stressful lifestyle, homework just adds to it.”

Maybe the question should not be whether homework is good or bad, but whether the use of it can be improved. Senior Kerstin Hernandez said, “Homework for me is very time-consuming. I think if each teacher gave one sheet based solely on what we learned that day, I would learn better.” Less but effective is what more students want.