Is Homework a Waste of Students’ Time?
Study Finds It’s the Biggest Cause of Teen Stress
写作业是不是在浪费学生的时间？
研究发现它是导致青少年焦虑的最大原因。
By JULIE MAZZIOTTA ︱ Dec. 18, 2018
It’s the bane of every teen’s existence. After sitting through hours at school, they leave only to get started on mountains of homework. And educators are mixed on its effectiveness. Some say the practice reinforces what students learned during the day, while others argue that it put unnecessary stress on kids and parents, who are often stuck nagging or helping.
这是困扰每个青少年生活的烦心事。孩子们在学校坐了一整天，离开以后只是为了面对山一样高的家庭作业重新开始。教育家们对作业的有效性看法不一。一些人认为这种做法可以巩固学生在白天学到的东西，而另一些人则认为这种做法给孩子和父母带来不必要的压力，经常为此焦灼不安。
bane：祸根;灾星;烦人的事;使某人的生活不快（或不幸）的原因
reinforce：加固;强化;增援
nagging：唠叨的，挑剔的;使人不得安宁的
According to a new study, conducted by the Better Sleep Council, that homework stress is the biggest source of frustration for teens, with 74 percent of those surveyed ranking it the highest, above self-esteem (51 percent) parental expectations (45 percent) and bullying (15 percent).
根据一项由改善睡眠委员会开展的新研究，家庭作业带来的压力是导致青少年沮丧的最大来源，74%的受访者认为家庭作业带来的压力是最大的，高于自尊（51%）、父母的期望（45%）和暴力（15%）。
Homework is taking up a large chunk of their time, too — around 15-plus hours a week, with about one-third of teens reporting that it’s closer to 20-plus hours.
家庭作业也占据了他们相当大的一部分时间 — 每周15个小时以上，大约三分之一的青少年报告说接近20个小时以上。
chunk：相当大的数量或部分
The stress and excessive homework adds up to lost sleep, the BSC says. According to the survey, 57 percent of teenagers said that they don’t get enough sleep, with 67 reporting that they get just five to seven hours a night — a far cry from the recommended eight to ten hours. The BSC says that their research shows that when teens feel more stressed, their sleep suffers. They go to sleep later, wake up earlier and have more trouble falling and staying asleep than less-stressed teens.
BSC（改善睡眠委员会）说，压力和过多的家庭作业叠加，会导致失眠。根据调查，57%的青少年说他们没有足够的睡眠，67个报告说他们每晚只有5到7个小时，这与推荐的8到10个小时相差甚远。BSC说，他们的研究表明当青少年感到压力更大时，他们的睡眠就会受到影响。与压力较小的青少年相比，他们睡得晚，起得早，更难入睡，深睡眠时间更短。
“We’re finding that teenagers are experiencing this cycle where they sacrifice their sleep to spend extra time on homework, which gives them more stress — but they don’t get better grades,” said Mary Helen Rogers, the vice president of marketing and communications for the BSC.
“我们发现，青少年正在经历这样一个循环，他们牺牲睡眠，花更多的时间在家庭作业上，这不仅给他们增添了更多的压力，也并没有使他们获得更好的成绩，”玛丽·海伦·罗杰斯，BSC市场营销与传播副总裁说。
Another interesting finding from this study: students who go to bed earlier and wake up earlier do better academically than those who stay up late, even if those night owls are spending that time doing homework.
这项研究的另一个有趣的发现是：，即使那些夜猫子把时间都花在写作业上，那些早睡早起的学生们反而比那些熬夜的学生的学习成绩要好。
To end this cycle of sleep deprivation and stress, the BSC recommends that students try setting a consistent time to go to sleep each night, regardless of leftover homework. And their other sleep tips are good for anyone, regardless of age — keep the temperature between 65 and 67 degrees, turn off the electronic devices before bed, make sure the mattress is comfy and reduce noise with earplugs or sound machines.
想要终结这种睡眠不足和压力的恶性循环，BSC建议学生们，不管是否做完家庭作业，尝试设定一个固定的时间去睡觉。针对睡眠，他们还提出了对任何人都有好处的建议，无论年龄多大 — 保持室温在65至67度之间，在睡觉前关掉电子设备，确保床垫舒适，使用耳塞或音响设备降低噪音。
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