To help with their college applications, seniors will often receive a homework exempt weekend sometime in the beginning of the school year. During this weekend, teachers are advised not to assign seniors any homework. While this weekend certainly does help relieve stress for seniors, more can be done to aide them through the application process.
It’s no secret that high school can be an extremely difficult time as teens are transitioning into adult life. A 2013 survey by the American Psychological Association study found that school work is the top source of stress for teens, followed closely by an anxiety over getting into a good college and as well as deciding what to do after high school.
Unfortunately, curriculums and other activities do not compensate for the added strain of college applications. To alleviate some of this stress, homework exempt weekends offer seniors a chance to focus their attention on applications instead of school work.
To seniors, these weekends are extremely beneficial in helping them finish their applications. “Most seniors end up skipping a day here or there anyway due to just needing a day to catch up with the massive workload.” an anonymous senior said.
“From a practical perspective, of course we’re going to prioritize college apps over schoolwork,” an anonymous senior said. “Teachers don’t share this perspective. These weekends allows us some “breathing room” during one of the most stressful times of our lives thus far.”
From this standpoint, homework exempt weekends seem like they should not only be continued, but expanded upon as well. Many students are afraid to take even a day off in fear of missing a class; the result of this is that they often compromise their health and happiness.
While having a homework exempt weekend is definitely a step in the right direction, there’s more that can be done. It is time for teachers and administration to recognize that their seniors can only handle a certain amount of work and that taking extra time to compose should be acceptable. While a good amount of teachers participate in this event, it is time that we expand these weekends and implement more of them in the school year in order to better help our seniors.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Valerie Wang of Richard Montgomery High School