Now that students have been in school for almost two months, stress of school, projects, applications, scholarships and tests have started to set in. For freshmen, the stress of starting at a new school, in new classes, with a new group of people may be stressful. Sophomores and juniors have the stress of preparing themselves for the PSAT and SAT test that will help them get to where the seniors are this year, which is applying for scholarships and college applications.

On top of that, add in any sports, clubs, working and even things happening outside of the classroom, students do deal with a lot of stress throughout the school year. Some of these things do add up and can cause students to not excel further in school or cause them to not feel like trying their hardest all the time because they feel they are pushed to the limits almost every day. Sometimes, students need a break from school and home/activities.

With that being said, sometimes students do put the stress on themselves by procrastinating, checking Powerschool an obsessive amount of times, the list goes on. Students, in order to try and manage stress, try and manage their time wisely. Maybe instead of going out for Senior Lunch Option, students should eat at school and then spend the last 30 minutes working on homework or a project that needs to get done.

Other countries around the globe have been cracking down on homework for students and they have been seeing some interesting results. Finland has been trying to give less homework and telling students to go outside more. Many people think the more homework given out, the better off the United States will be in the education system. In 2016, the Huffington Post claimed, “Korea and Finland give their students the least amount of homework per week and their education systems are the top in the world.” The United States ranks 28 in the world for education while Finland rates six according to a 2016 BBC news article. Part of their success is they have a slogan “Leave no child behind” to ensure every child is getting the help they need and it doesn’t go unnoticed.

Other studies have shown that homework can help to improve students’ grades and overall learning. Is it enough to get the United States in the top ten countries for education in the world? Probably not. However, several students in extracurricular activities do experience stress related to homework and schoolwork in general, feeling like all they ever do is school anymore. Maybe cutting down a little would be beneficial for the students in the U.S. With that being said, we all need to do our part as students and try to not procrastinate, get our homework done on time and ask questions to help us understand what we are learning better.