I am with you all the way! I hated it when I went through the system and my (very learned) father disapproved of many aspects including A) girls should not be opening gemaras, B) Torah She B’Chsave should NOT be memorized for the sake of memorization eg kapitlach Tehilim which you will NOT remember the day after the test (despite the holy rebbetzin’s claims).
Our girls are being tortured. Do they need something to fill their time and minds with? Yes. But the amount of pressure and piles of mifarshim that they are taught go way beyond that. The top 5% can handle the workload? Fine – let them take the time they are spending looking up gemaras and mishnayos and spend it helping a weaker classmate master the basic chumash and rashi. That will give her what to do, and challenge her in more, and useful, ways. Fore example, getting along with those they wouldn’t choose to, teaching (or even only homework help!) skills, patience, perseverance, tolerance.
Kudos and Hatzlacha to anyone who has the gumption to open up a girls high school where the girls actually ENJOY learning and don’t spend three hours a night after a long school day on homework. They’re KIDS!!!