We, the students of Kealakehe High School, request that teachers give out a maximum of 20 minutes of homework per night for regular classes and 40 minutes per night for AP and honors classes and focus on helpful collaboration for each student.

High school students today are under immense pressure and stress due to the overwhelming amount of schoolwork they are given and increasingly high expectations. According to a survey conducted by The Princeton Review, over 50% of students are stressed, with 25% reporting that homework was their biggest source of stress (Student Life in America). Teenagers are struggling to balance time between school, work, extracurriculars, and social obligations, and the additional stress placed on them by looming due dates is enough to push them over the edge; ever-increasing percentages of depression and anxiety among teens make this clear. 

Reducing the amount of out-of-class work that is given to students will not only give them more time for other areas of their life, but also cut down on their stress levels. Having this extra time to rest will lower the risk of them burning out and promises happier, more motivated students. In order to achieve this, teachers must be aware of the amount of extra work that they are giving and the time it takes to complete it. One poll found that, on average, students spend about 3 hours on homework per night (UOPX). This is unacceptable given the number of stressors and responsibilities that already burden our teenagers. To combat this, we ask that in-class work time be given for extra assignments and that we are assigned no more than 20 minutes of homework a day per regular class, up to 40 minutes for AP and honors courses. In addition to this, projects and larger out-of class assignments should be given a sufficient amount of time to complete as well as in-class check-ins and work time. The students of Kealakehe demand that a change is made in order to improve our mental health, sustain motivation, and increase our probability of success now and in the future.