My $.02 on the HW issue. From my observations, I think
there is far more HW assigned at the HS level now than
when I was in HS (1960 +/-). Students in the top 5%
spend much more time on HW than I ever did (again, in
HS). I know many in this group routinely study until 1
or 2 AM. IMHO this is FAR too much and students pay
mental and physical health costs for doing so.
Perhaps one of the reasons so few of the other 90+% of
HS students do so little HW is that the total amount
assigned is often overwhelming. HS students really do
need at least 8 hours of sleep, and some studies have
suggested the real physiological need is closer to 10
hours. If you start with available non-school waking
hours and allow time for meals, extracurriculars, and
maybe the job to support the car, there is not very
much time left for HW - certainly not anything like 2
hours for each of the five or six subjects that many
HS physics students are carrying. John Barrere Apex HS
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