To the editor:

It’s that time of year again: back to school for Lawrence children. But for students such as myself, the amount of homework given each night is ridiculous.

As a junior at Free State High School, I attend school every day for seven hours, go home and have three to four hours of homework. According to my math skills, that’s up to 12 hours of education per day. That’s half a day devoted to schooling, which is completely outrageous. Many kids have after-school jobs/activities they must attend. Teachers need to understand the amount of stress they put on students slapping them with tedious projects, worksheets and readings each night.

There’s too much pressure being put on kids and rarely any leisure time. Even weekends are being overrun by hours of homework. With all the stress, kids are having mental breakdowns.

Teachers claim to be “preparing us for real life,” but I think we get the picture. Most adults don’t even have 12 hours of work a day, so why should students have 12 hours of education? Many students have six or more subjects, and teachers should realize they are not the only ones assigning homework for the day. Give the students a break. Doing so would be fewer assignments for teachers to grade. A win-win situation.

By the way, the math skills “12 hours” was a joke. I promise I’m not an idiot. Seven plus four does not equal 12, it’s 11, but there’s still way too much homework.

Kelly Kelin,

Lawrence