We’ve all been there.  Coming home from school, getting distracted by the TV or your phone and then not wanting to do homework. Only when it becomes 7 or 8 p.m. do you realize how much you should’ve gotten done. I’m only a freshman. That means that a lot of people have a lot more homework than I do on a normal basis.  However, according to Education Week, “High school teachers interviewed said they assign an average of 3.5 hours worth of homework a week…”.  That in itself is a large amount of work to do, especially when we as teenagers have so many electronics around that can easily take our minds off of our daily work load.  On top of the paperwork, students also have after school commitments.  Many students participate in our array of clubs, teams and groups that we have been offered at Harrisonburg High School.  

What can we do to help get through the process more easily?  How can we get our work done more efficiently?  Here are a couple of tips both from personal experience and the web.

Tip 1: Turn off any electronics that can distract.

Turn off the TV, the phone and the tablet to get yourself into a somewhat electronic free zone.  If you need to work on the computer, that’s fine.  Just make sure you aren’t also watching YouTube or checking Twitter.  This can allow for no possible way to be on Snapchat or Instagram for a couple of hours before looking at the agenda of the afternoon.

Tip 2: Create a reward system

After working for an hour or two, or having done almost half of your homework, you should take 5 minute breaks in between assignments.  Whether it be turning back on your phone or watching a YouTube video, it is good to take frequent breaks.

Tip 3: Organize

Highlight, underline, or make flashcards to make studying worthwhile. Just reading the textbook over and over, while it might help a little, doesn’t stick with one the best.  Adding small things like that to your notes can help you remember material more easily before a test.  

Tip 4: Find a reason behind the homework

If you just do it to get it done, you’re missing the point. Think of the work as a study guide for the test, especially if your teachers make the test. Make sure to write in class ways they think about the topics, and when you do homework, you can write it in your words based off of what they said in class, not the textbook.

Teachers try every day to show us new information and make us more informed citizens in a hectic world.  Homework isn’t the best, but there is a benefit to it.  Excessive amounts, maybe not, but a worksheet or two never hurt anybody’s education. Especially after Thanksgiving, be thankful for the hardworking teachers in your life.  They are just trying as hard as us.  If we all had it easy, we wouldn’t learn anything.