Homework is no four-letter word, but it may just have a more damaging connotation than any expletive that can be uttered.

“Homework stresses me out to no end,” explains junior Ben Kusnetzky, “and honestly I can’t handle it anymore.”

And homework isn’t only frightening for upperclassmen.

“This is the first year I’ve had real homework and it’s a struggle,” said freshman Keegan Grubb. “I wish I had been more prepared for it.”

It is no secret that students hate homework.

Why wouldn’t they?

An average high school student spends six and a half hours at school and then trudges home to complete homework for upwards of another three and a half hours.

In total, 10 hours a day are spent at school or doing school related coursework. This leaves little time for other activities.

Homework, to most, seems like an unnecessary extension of school that sucks time away from friends, family, sports, and extracurricular activities.

Surprisingly, in recent years, student complaints regarding the copious amount of work at home, has received much attention at a national and local level.

A plethora of teachers across the country have greatly reduced or completely cut out homework as a part of their class, as a result of new data.

According to research conducted at Stanford University in 2013, “students in high-achieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress, physical health problems, a lack of balance in their lives, and alienation from society.”

The same study also found that high school students should not be doing more than two hours of homework a night for best results, while most complete an average of three hours or more.

In addition, high amounts of homework and low amounts of time for any activities in students’ lives has led to decreased interest in school.

“I hate school,” Kusnetzky admitted. “I used to like it when I was younger, but now it’s no fun. I go to school and go home and do lots of homework every night.”

On the opposing side, many teachers stand firm in their beliefs that homework aids in ingraining the subject matter and “practice makes perfect.”

Not only that, but in many classes the content is so extensive that not everything can be completed within the time constraints of a class.

The question remains, should students continue to be given homework or should the workload be lightened?