SUFFOLK, Va. — As students head back to school after Labor Day, they will be faced with an age-old question: how much homework is too much?
Admittedly, this time around things are a little different.
Natalie Hyman and her daughter Katelyn, and Loreida Jennings and her daughters Loreida and Taylor, are starting the school year online. The girls will do all of their classwork from the comfort of their own homes, so where does that leave homework?
“I have no idea. We’re just going to see how it is and do our best and schedule everything,” Taylor said. “Since we’ve done virtual learning, we’ve actually had to do a lot more work than at school.”
But not all students agree on the right amount.
Taylor's sister Loreida said, “You can never have too little homework... I do want to have something to after school, just to recap and review.”
But Katelyn believes: “I don’t think we need the extra work to do at home."
Parents are on different pages, as well.
“I think the words 'too much homework' is a bit of an oxymoron,” Loreida Jennings said.
While Natalie Hyman said, “I feel like it’s going to be more work than what they normally have.”
Both families say they’re already preparing for hours of more work. It’s going to be a new balancing act for students and parents.
Hyman said she'll be working from home while also keeping an eye on Katelyn.
“Juggling work and also helping her in the meantime,” she said.
Jennings is in the same boat.
“I am leaning on prayer," she said with a laugh. "Some of the math, I’m very familiar with, some of the items they do I’m like, 'I’ve never seen that. I don’t know.'”
But students and moms agree, it’s important to stay consistent, but they don’t want home life to be dominated by schoolwork.
It’s a new learning experience and a lesson in self-discipline.
“I have learned a few different things on how to manage my schedule and everything so I am grateful for that," Katelyn said. "But it’s still a learning process.”