In the crazed world of a high school student, the last thing a student needs is more homework.

Let us call our example subject student Fred.  Teachers, parents and others have so many expectations for Fred, but alas, he cannot do everything.  He plays soccer and the violin and has to practice.  Fred wants to be involved in school clubs like he is told to do repeatedly by his parents, administrators, and teachers, and to attend what school events he can.  His parents cry, “Get more sleep!”  “Be more social!”  “Get out of your room and down here for dinner right now!  You’ve been doing homework for the past five hours!”  Fred also has a job because he hopes to one day attend college, which his parents will not pay for.

Fred has eight classes filled with assignments and tests to study for.  His problem is not the homework – he knows that homework helps him learn and be prepared for a future career.  His problem is that every teacher he has seems to forget that he has seven other teachers and a life outside of high school.  That one extra page of a history study guide, ten extra math problems, one small English essay, five extra pages to read in his chemistry textbook, and one act of Henry V may seem very little on their own, but collectively, along with everything else he is expected to do, makes him ready to break.  If he were female, he might periodically break down in tears.  He knows that he has to keep up his good grades in order to get scholarships and not be disowned by his parents, but juggling life and school only exhausts him.

So Fred suffers day in and day out, trying to survive on four hours of sleep a night, seven hours of school a day, and everything else in his crazy life.  He would kindly appreciate it if teachers would give a smaller homework load.  Then maybe, just maybe, everyone would be happy with his life.