There is something needing clarification. Adults are always telling younger people high school is not just for academics. However, doing well in high school should be on the top of one’s priority list. On another note, adults also say one’s high school years should be fun.

Therefore, this Advocate reporter asks the question, “If high school years are about schoolwork and fun, then why are we as students bombarded by so much homework?” According to Pauline Moreau, a representative from Central Maine Community College for the Early College for ME Program, “For every hour students are in class, students should spend two hours outside of class to study and do the work assigned.”

If those guidelines were followed, most students wouldn’t have time to socialize or to play sports. For example, if students have AP Biology, they should be spending about four hours outside of school for that class plus the other class work. Additionally, if a student is taking eight classes, which a number of students are, they should be spending about eight hours a day for all of their classes. In this scenario, even if a student started homework directly after school, one would be completing homework and related studies around 10 o’clock at night. Sometimes it is just too much. How can students play sports, do well in their studies, attend practices and engage in other socialization?

Students get a lot of homework from some classes and only a few assignments from others. Many students don’t get enough sleep because they spend so much time doing homework. As an Advocate reporter, I surveyed students at area high schools (Lisbon High, Lewiston High and Oak Hill) to see how many hours of sleep they usually get. According to the survey, the average number of hours of sleep each night ranged from four to six hours.

“The average amount of sleep a teen should get is roughly around eight to nine hours a night,” according to Lisbon High School nurse, Mrs. Roxanne Mooney. Only a few students surveyed admitted getting the recommended amount of sleep.

One of the seniors at Lisbon High School said it best, “I think teachers do assign way too much homework. Currently, I am reading two books, working on lab reports, filling out college applications and working. If teachers could be more understanding of all the other activities in a student’s life at this age, maybe the balance of academics and social life could be better.”