Because of the coronavirus pandemic, teachers and students have had to constantly change the style of learning as more and more restrictions have been put in place. The most obvious change that school administrations have had to adjust to is online learning. Teachers at Manitou Springs High School have been assigning excessive amounts of homework. This is not only detrimental to the mental health of teenagers trying to navigate their way through e-learning but also their physical health.

Recent studies have determined that 75% of college students reported feeling more anxious or stressed due to online school. With students sitting in front of a screen for an average of 6 and a half hours a day just for lectures alone, online school has made emotional stress the new norm. The AHA (American Heart Association) recommends that kids and teens spend at most two hours a day on screens. It has been proven time and again that longer screen time is associated with higher levels of symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as lower levels of optimism and life satisfaction. With students spending that much time on a screen for a regular school day, they still have an average of the three and a half hours of homework a night. Although this varies by school and cannot be specifically pinned to Manitou Springs High School, it still rings true for AP students. At school right now a student’s life revolves around schoolwork. It seems it has been determined that to make up for lost time, teachers are replacing time where they would usually be teaching lessons with additional homework. A student’s life revolves around continuous homework.

The excessive amounts of homework are not only bad for one’s mental health, but also their physical wellbeing. Doing hours of online school and homework is painful. Most students will complain about feeling physically exhausted, as well as experiencing back, arm, and leg pain, and eye strain from being in front of a computer screen all day. Although students can get up and move around in between classes, this small amount of time that allows for movement is not enough to combat a whole day’s worth of being sat in front of a screen.

The coronavirus has hit schools hard. Schools are struggling to keep up with a schedule that will help students learn as much as they can despite the situation. However, teachers at Manitou Springs High School assign too much homework. The answer to staying on track is to replace time spent doing excessive homework, reviewing what the day has taught us, with time to continue teaching. There should be less homework assigned and instead more time to continue learning new content.