As “the dark side of school” burdens our lovely students up and down the entirety of our valley, teachers seem to become more and more relentless when it comes to the vast amount of homework that is being assigned  every night. As the constant battle between the pleasure-seeking students of AHS, and the fun-murdering system stretches across an entire century, it is time to shed some light on the issue as a whole. With respect to the metaphor, I will humbly act as your flashlight while we look deep into the history of this grudge match.

   According to Syracuse journalist, Larry Chen, Roberto Nevilis is considered to be the “inventor” of homework itself. Dating all the way back to 1905, Nevilis introduced homework within his scholastic environment as a punishment to students who were unable to pay attention in class. His working philosophy was that it was a student’s responsibility to devote a certain amount of time to their education per day. If they were not willing to devote that time during the hours of schooling, then they would be unwillingly forced to devote that time while they were at home (hence the term “homework”). Nevilis later became extremely disappointed with the amount of effort in which his students were putting into their work, so he demonically pitched the idea to the educational foundation in his hometown. As the idea was approved after the means of voting, Nevilis received the credit that he was so desperately looking for, and facilitated a homework mandatory schooling system.

   Now, in current-day schooling systems of the United States, students are given homework essentially every day of the school year, regardless of their output in class. Not only that but as students take more advanced classes and work harder throughout their scholastic careers, they are only rewarded with even more dreaded homework. In order to put this conflict of interest into perspective, it would only make sense to look at the most successful schooling system on the globe: Sweden.

   Not only does Sweden host the most elite group of high schools in the world, but they also abide by the nationwide standard to not assign their students any homework at all. They believe in the authentic philosophy that real-life experiences are just as, if not more, valuable than those in the classroom. As a result of putting this outlook on education into effect, Swedish students are not only better prepared for the lives that stand ahead of them, but they also have significantly fewer amounts of stress than the students hosted by the United States. 

   All in all, AHS should at least go through a trial phase where students of all intellectual abilities are relieved from homework for a period of time. Most people would agree that what was once considered a punishment should not become a national standard and that following the footsteps of the most highly ranked schooling system in the world would not be a bad idea in the slightest. In the name of stress reduction, livelihood, and happiness, the frowned upon concept of homework must come to an end.