2020 has been a hard year for everyone, especially youth. Imagine, coming back from summer break, and hearing your school would be turning completely virtual. No in-person support, no seeing friends, no meetings to work on projects. You'd have to be stuck inside your house, on a computer which may or may not even work properly, likely sharing a space with multiple other people; siblings, who are also doing online school, parents, even extended family in some situations. There's extra work because of distance learning, in some cases you might get up to 25 assignments per week. Your grades start to go down, sparking arguments with parents and teachers, and your late work starts piling up. And there's really nothing you can do about it, and the stress starts affecting your mental health, leaving you feeling trapped in this endless, frustrating circle.

This is the situation for over 3/4 of American youth today. We cannot be expected to work this much, when there's so much going on in our lives. It's really hard. And we've tried to speak up about these issues before. But just because we're young, people don't take us seriously, and invalidate our arguments. We’re kids, but we’re expected to act like adults. And yet,when we do, no one will notice our attempts at communication “because we’re kids.” Ironic, huh?

The homework load is also way too much. Teachers give us an enormous workload and a meager amount of time in which to do it. Think of the kids with OCD, ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, SPD, other learning disabilities, or just the kids who can't speed through homework as if they are an adult.

Less homework and more support for students outside of school-related topics would lessen the stress the students are dealing with, help raise grades, and reduce conflict between teachers, parents, and students. It'd be good for everyone.

[This petition was organized and written by four 7th graders, and information was collected from other kids in schools all around America]