Junior Advocates for Less Homework
Students often study or work on homework in their free periods.
November 16, 2022
The Upper School handbook states that each freshman and sophomore should expect 35-50 minutes of homework per class, per day; and that each junior and senior should expect 50-75 minutes of homework per class, per day.
Brooke Baldwin ‘24 aims to reduce that amount.
“Last year in government, we wrote a declaration from something, and I did it from homework,” Baldwin said. “Then this year, I was like, what if I edit my declaration into an actual thing?”
Baldwin edited her declaration from getting rid of homework entirely to still having homework, but reducing the amount of it. Her petition recommends that the freshman/sophomore homework expectation per class be brought down to 25-35 minutes and that the junior/senior expectation per class be brought down to 30-45 minutes.
In her petition, Baldwin cites many reasons for reducing the amount of homework students receive, including increased chances of students not practicing academic honesty, stress, loss of sleep, and other health risks that come with the loss of sleep.
Baldwin started off by just showing the petition to some of her friends and classmates. Then, she began showing the petition to students at lunch and after announcements, to see if more people were interested in signing.
To have the petition considered by the Upper School’s Administration, she must first obtain the signatures of half of the Upper School student body, 183 – she currently has 184 signatures and is aiming to surpass her goal with 200 signatures. Once she gets the remaining signatures, she’ll present it to the Student Council. If the petition passes Student Council, it’ll get presented to the Administration, who will then take it into account and decide whether or not changes will be made.
“Since Country Day has such academic rigor, I don’t know if they’d be willing to concede,” Baldwin said. “But maybe it’s something they’ll keep in mind, that half the student body signed for less homework.”
