by Georgia Mountroukas
Last week, Mr. Cohen sent out an email to high school teachers requesting that they consider reducing the amount of homework students are assigned over the holiday break. Students were surprised and very excited about Mr. Cohen’s proposal, as they feel that mountains of school work all too often ruin vacation plans.
Sophomore Antonia Abramowitz said, “It was really nice of him to think about the students and let them have time off and be able to enjoy it without the burden of homework over their heads.”
Many faculty members, students, and parents agree that students undergo a lot of stress with school work and academic pressure during the year. Mr. Cohen firmly believes there need to be opportunities for students to recover from the intense workload they endure during the school year. He hopes this plan “leads to students having the ability to refuel during the break and come back to school more focused and ready for the final push of [the end of the second quarter] and midterms”.
Sophomore Mariana Maciel also likes the idea because she has “family coming from different places over the holidays and I want to spend as much time with family as possible, and not have to worry about school.” She is grateful that having less work “will lighten the mood and make [the holidays] better.”
Junior Matt Spencer stated, “I feel like some teachers give projects thinking there’s an excuse because there’s so much time to do it, but it’s break and you can’t break when you gotta work.”
Teachers seem to be in support of Cohen’s effort as well. Freshman English teacher Ms. Jennifer McArdle stated that “homework should be given in moderation over break because students need a break and excess homework can interfere with plans.”
Mr. Cohen hopes with this plan to show students he understands the stress and anxiety experienced by teens during high school. His goal is to allow them to take time over the next few weeks to focus on family and relaxation.
