Hi, at my school teachers say that the homework only takes one hour per week, however it does not. My teacher gives me a writing piece which can take up to 2 hours. This isn't the main thing though. We get given a test every week and I have to remember 50 words and their meanings in 2 days(French words). This really stresses me out because I struggle to learn them all and we are only allowed to get 3 wrong otherwise we have a 1 hour detention and it makes me paranoid and I have even stayed off school to miss the test once. It's not only the test that stresses me it's also the teacher. We get tests in other subjects which are a lot easier with no punishments but the teacher who gives us the large test kind of scares me because if I fail the test they shout really loud and everyone else in the class is a bit afraid of them as well. Hope you can reply.
Sam
Hi there
Having lots of homework to do and feeling unable to complete the tasks can feel really worrying, especially when we try really hard to get the work done and work to our best ability. There can be a number of reasons why the work takes longer than expected and can feel hard to complete.
It might be that the teacher is setting work that is too hard. If this is the case it's likely many people in the class may not be able to complete the work either perhaps you could talk to them too to see how they feel. Sometimes a teacher may not explain the work in a way that feels right for you so it can feel harder to complete. If a teacher is aware of this it can help them to try different ways to explain things which might work better for you.
It can really help to talk things through with an adult you trust to help you feel able to manage the work you are being set. One option would be to talk to your teacher and explain how you are feeling to see if there is any further support they can offer. If this feels difficult, you could also talk to another teacher you trust. You could also talk to your parents and maybe they could speak to this teacher about how you feel. Planning what you want to say can help you to explain exactly how you feel. Writing a letter or email to help express your feelings can also help.
You may want to talk this through with a ChildLine counsellor before you decide what to do next. Having worries about the amount of work to do is something that lots of young people talk about on the message boards so you may find some tips and advice on how to cope. This is not something you have to go through alone.
Take care, Sam
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