Kill Me Now (I Can Learn Math Later)

Is studying considered homework? 

According to  google, the definition of homework is “schoolwork that a student is required to do at home” or “work or study done in preparation for a certain event or situation.” Studying could fall under the second definition,  but the idea of studying does not sound very homework-ish to me. 

This week,  I have zero homework, but about eight hours of studying per class. In result of this, I am more stressed than I have ever been in my high school career. It would be so much easier (probably not more time efficient, but hey! Glee is a great sound track for homework) to just have worksheets and reading. 

It’s not that I do not value studying, I do (really!) I just don’t value spending lots of time memorizing things for a test, especially when there is test practically every period. Which means I spend a week not thinking, but reciting definitions and math formulas.  

It’s very hard for me to dedicated time to studying, especially when there are more than one class that needs studying. Like, do I give each class a half an hour? Or should I be spending forty five minutes per class (like some homework assignments force me to do)? Because if I spend half an hour per class when I have six classes to study for; that's three hours of studying. 

Now we add in the fact there are two tests with different topics in two of those classes? Do I add an hour more of studying? Am I now studying for four hours? 

Four hours of studying sounds pretty intensive; in that time I can watch about four and a half episodes of Glee. Which is a lot more mentally engaging. 

I don’t spend four hours on homework collectively, or even half an hour on one class regularly, so why should I dedicate that much time reviewing the material. It makes zero sense. 

That is my problem with studying. We spend more time going over the material than we do actually learning it. To me, that sounds pretty wacky. 

I spend so much time memorizing math formulas that I don’t remember how to use them by the time the test comes. Or all I know are the exact definitions of geography terms so that, when the test comes, my brain can’t even fathom how to use them in a real life situation. Or I spend so much time second guessing what I already know while studying, that I can’t remember a damn thing come the actual test.

me trying to figure out if studying is homework
(image source: some library) 

Thus, when a teacher assigns studying for homework I am throughly confused. Especially when they ask you to write down how much you studied. So what if I spent fifteen minutes studying if I ace your test? Is that going to make you think less of me? Will you dock points? (That may sound crazy, but I've had a teacher do it!) What will happen? 

Concluding, even after this stream of conscience, I am still answerless on whether studying is homework or not. If you, my lovely reader, know if studying is considered homework, please let me know because I am clueless. 

Lots of Love, 

Shaun