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How much is too much?: Beyond AoW #12

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Adults nowadays are always complaining about how lazy kids are and how they have everything handed to them, especially money.  But is this actually true?  Are kids honestly getting more and more lazy than the prior generations or is something else causing people to believe this?

Okay, so studies have proved that kids have less jobs than when their parents were kids, and everyone knows that money management is a great thing for kids to learn, I even was taught it.  However, in the state of New York, “there are more standardized tests and homework given than ever before”(Julia Ryan) which means less time outside, and more time inside studying and doing work.  I mean you have to study, there are tests that if you fail just one, you can’t graduate high school.  “Districts say they don’t have enough computers or bandwidth to help students prepare to take the test online, as required by state law”(Chuck Berman), so obviously the schools are not following the ruls correctly.  “A 2007 MetLife study found that 45 percent of students spend more than an hour a night doing homework, and some students report even spending more than three hours a night on their homework.” (Julia Ryan)  So six hours of school, three hours of homework and eating dinner, you are finished to relax at about 7:30-8:00.  Oh wait, lets not forget about if the child is an athlete.  They will be done with everything at about 11:00-11:30.  So with doing absolutely nothing else other than sports, school, and eating in the day, you have maybe one hour to have some free time.  One hour!  What job is one hour a day?  What could a kid do with one hour a day?  They’re already exhausted from all the work they’ve had to do.  It is also proven that “school districts require two to three times more tests than are actually required by the state.”(Melissa Lazarín)  On average, “students take 80 big tests out of the 180 school days”(Chuck Berman, this is not including all the quizzes given.  [activities  [ elevate the importance of tests, and inviting all students to wear the same color shirt during test week] can unnecessarily escalate the significance of tests and spur test-related performance anxiety among students. Test preparation should consist of nothing more than high-quality instruction aligned to rigorous academic standards.”(Melissa Lazarín) Now it is obvious that kids are under extreme stress and clearly have a limited time to sleep, so is this generation lazy like everyone says they are or are they just too busy?

Kids these days are outside less and less, preventing themselves from getting exercise because they are too busy playing video games, right?  I mean sources say that most kids get more than seven hours of screen time gaming or watching TV every day.  Now think about that, that’s not even possible with a kids busy schedule!  So a lot of the adults that are just assuming that kids get more and more lazy as the years go by, should really stop and think about all the tests and work given now, than  compared to when they were kids.  And its a whole lot more.  As a kid I realize the difficulty trying to manage all my time wisely and get everything done on time, its hard.  I will be stuck doing homework all night while my parents sit and watch TV.  I have no free time, so when I am finished, going outside or getting a job is the last thing on my worry list.  Lets not even get started on sleep.  It is so hard to get a good nights rest when you have to stay up late and wake up early.  Kids need lots of sleep and seven hours just doesn’t cut it.

I’m not saying its easy to be an adult and harder to be a kid, because I know the adults were kids once too, they know what it is like.  In fact, I’m sure adults go through way more stress than anyone else does.  However, its a different world now, and the work capacity being put on kids is too much, and its leading people to think this generation is lazy when in reality, they are the most hard working ones.

Works Cited:

Adams, Susan. “Want Your Kids to Succeed? Don’t Pay For Their Education.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 June 2015.

Berman, Chuck. “Time for Time out on New School Testing: Editorial.” OrlandoSentinel.com. Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 June 2015.

Lazarín, Melissa. “Testing Overload in America’s Schools.” Center for American Progress. Center for American Progress, 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 June 2015.

Ryan, Julia. “How Much Homework Do American Kids Do?” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 June 2015.

 

 

 


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