Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Wake up, eat breakfast, go to the movies, go shopping, do homework, visit your cousins...wait, take a few steps back. Homework?! Where did that come from? Oh, now I remember, my teacher. Homework is the poison that kills any weekend, no matter how great or lousy. Our weekends our time to just chill and be who we are, kids who want to live life to the fullest. But homework makes this impossible. It cuts into our time with family and friends, prevents us from doing our chores and stops us from fully enjoying our weekend.

Kids hate homework. It’s just the way we are. But there’s more to it than pure hatred. For starters it cuts into the time we spend with family and friends. I remember just a couple weeks ago, I had to do a report on monk fish for Biology. A truly dreadful topic, worsened by the fact it was a beautiful sunny day outside and I was cooped up, forced to work on this inane project. But the hurt just kept coming. As I worked, the phone calls flooded in. Sandy was wondering if I wanted to go the to movies, Emily wanted to go shopping, Derek asked me out to lunch. All the possibilities! And what was I doing? Telling them all I had to do a report, a report on monkfish. Talk about putting salt on the wound. But the nightmare wasn’t over yet. Come afternoon and I was still typing away on the keyboard. My parents wanted to know if I wanted to go visit my cousins. A year younger to me, they are my best friends. Yet I had to refuse and spent the rest of the day in the company of my beloved monkfish.

Homework not only cuts into our free time but also prevents us from doing chores. Not that I’m saying I like chores. Chores are the services that keep parents pacified. Let us return to my dear monkfish to show just how vital these chores are to a happy household. As I slogged away at the computer, the agitation started. Since I started right away at this project my morning chores were left undone. My dad graciously agreed to do them for me. This was my first and only reprieve all day. My parents and brother tried to accommodate all the work done by four people and split it among three. A plan destined to fail. So they had no choice but to call on my help. “Honey! Could you please feed the cat?” “Honey! Could you please do the dishes?” “Honey...” You get the point. It got to point where I was considering giving this whole project the finger and just going out and doing all the chores. But common sense prevailed and I worked on amidst the cacophony of pleas. All of this was caused by my Biology teacher’s dear love of monkfish.

Homework not only puts a strain on your workload and free time but also your mind. It prevents you from fully enjoying the weekend. How, you may care to ask? Well, why don’t we let the monkfish explain? My parents had forcibly dragged me away from the computer and out to some posh restaurant. Not my place of choice, but oh well. As we ordered, and tried to have a conversation, my mind kept drifting back to those godforsaken monk fish. Questions whirled through my mind. Would I be able to finish in time? Was it good enough? Did I need more material? What if I didn’t finish? What if it wasn’t good enough? What if, what if…my own mind plagued me all evening. It seems getting away from the house just wasn’t good enough. My own thoughts were the source of my meltdown. I barely enjoyed the meal even though it was my favorite, sautéed shrimp. Why? Because they lived in the sea just like their floppy friends the monkfish. As soon as we got home I raced to the computer and got back to work. And I continued to work all of the next day. I just wasn’t able to take a break because my thoughts were always on those damned monkfish.

Well now you see just how badly one report can mess up your weekend. Now imagine trying to accomplish more than one. Pure chaos! Most people have a busy weekend maybe once a month. But for students, it’s a constant problem. So please hear our plea. Homework on the weekends just doesn’t cut it. And if you still aren’t convinced, answer me this - How would you like to be faced with this dilemma every weekend for almost ten years? I thought so, you wouldn’t like it one bit. And neither do we. So please no more homework on weekends.

This is one essay I will heart till the end of time.