High school and homework go together like two peas in a pod. Homework has been a controversial staple of many schools for years. The debate about their effect on students is still ongoing, and the necessity for homework has always been in question. But how do Prairie students feel about homework? What do they think could be done better?

Homework and the amount or difficulty of it really depends on the classes students choose to take. AP and Honors classes tend to have higher amounts of homework than normal classes. It can also depend on the subject you take, or the teachers you get. Some classes encourage more independent work time or hands-on learning, and, as a result, have less or sometimes no homework. Some classes are almost entirely outside of class work. Some students are okay with this. Others aren’t.

Students vary on opinions about homework. “I think that by large,” Sophomore Wyatt Fairly, a student who takes a fair share of AP classes and receives nearly daily homework, says in regard to his opinions on homework versus class work, “That it’s just more, uh, effective to be learning and working in the classroom. Out of class time, uh… There’s less learning happening.”

A big issue outside of the classroom is the lack of motivation many students receive after school. Whether it be due to a job, homework, athletics, clubs, or other activities, students may struggle to find solid time to get work done efficiently and effectively. The designated time school gives you in school generally works better for people because it is an assigned time to do work, where it’s harder to worry about anything else. After-school time is generally either unorganized or filled with other things, making students motivated to do less work.

Students have several ideas to solve these issues. “I would abolish homework,” Sophomore Jesse Driscoll said in response to ideas to solve the issue of homework, “and maybe do lectures, like two lectures a week. And the rest of it, it’s just work days when you get that assignment or maybe a bigger assignment with more stuff, but significantly more in class time to do them.”

The majority of students tend to have a dislike for homework. Many seek to abolish it entirely, in favor of a new system allowing more time in class for work. But whether you like or hate homework, the surrounding controversy can not be ignored. A new system may be needed to help keep student engagement and motivation whilst allowing continuous education inside of classrooms and schools.