Introduction Throughout my schooling, I have always wondered what exactly I gained by doing my homework. In the past, when I have been given assignments that I find to be a waste of my time, I have asked my teachers why they chose to give us the assignment. In response to this question, my teachers have usually answered with things along the lines of “It will enhance your ability to better understand the subject.” (Pokorski, 2013) and “I am not given enough time to teach you, so you will have to teach yourself at home.” (Engen, 2011) I have never really accepted this reasoning, so a part of the reason I chose the topic of limiting homework was because I wanted to provide an alternate perspective to the answers I had always received. By examining evidence and background information about homework as a part of education, and discussing current actions being taken to address the problem, this essay will explore how to create a happier, and smarter student body; in order to enact change, I plan to initiate some strategies for reducing homework load at EHS. History of Homework Homework has been a common teaching strategy since the middle of the 1800’s (Gartner, 1980). It is said to promote learning by taking what the kids learned at school and bringing it home for further practice. But some people see that there are more negatives to homework than positives. And those people are hoping to change the way our society looks at homework. For example, many kids don’t think that
One of the most controversial topics in education today is homework. This debate has been going on for decades, as teachers, administrators, and parents disagree on whether homework should be assigned, and if assigned, then what the right amount of homework should be. The time students spend on homework has increased over the years. “High school students get assigned up to 17.5 hours of homework per week, according to a survey of 1,000 teachers” (Bidwell). Recently, more fuel has been added in this debate because younger students in particular are receiving much more homework than before. Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing, states that “The amount of homework that younger kids – ages 6 to 9 – have
Imagine having a full time job where you did not get paid, could not quit, and have at least a few hours of paperwork to complete each night. This is what students go through everyday with homework. Homework is assignments sent home from school for students of all ages to finish by a certain due date, for a grade. In the past decade, controversies over the amount of work kids and teens are given has lead many to study the benefits of homework to see if the work teachers assign is actually helping students academically and improving test scores. It has grown to an extreme amount, prevents kids and teens from getting the things they need in life, gets in the way of a good childhood, damages relationships, and has not proven to actually aid
This article interviews Dr. Harrison Cooper, author and professor at Duke, about the current homework controversy. Media, along with many other outlets, discuss the homework controversy: is it unecessary or valuable practice? Cooper says that people's’ views on homework has changed very little and it has proven to be somewhat of a cycle. For example, throughout the 20th century people’s views have continued to flip back and forth for various reasons. Some of the reasons listed in the article is that homework puts too much stress on the child, they need to practice and exercise their brain, and needing to keep up with the Japanese (Walker). However, the actual amount of homework that students get has changed very little. For example, elementary
Homework has been an area of discussion for teachers, students, and even psychologists. It’s been a practice which has been used throughout the United States to help students learn material, reinforce their day’s lesson, or just as busy work to improve a student’s work ethic. Several people view homework as useless, or just plainly unhelpful; this view has been demonstrated ever since the early twentieth century, where many authors and politicians were vehemently against homework, going as far as to write whole books and draft legislation (legislation which had passed the Californian government and had been law) against homework. This opposition has ever since faded, but is now seeing a new movement around America, and there are reasons as to why that is. In an article from CNN, they quote a study from another article published by The American Journal of Family Therapy which states that: “students in the early elementary school years are getting significantly more homework than is recommended by education leaders, in some cases nearly three times as much homework as is recommended”, and, as such, students are raised within a state of stress from the first grade. Several other studies also find that homework is very hurtful; the Journal of Experimental Education published an article which had made a study that found that the average amount of time students spend on homework each night had been 3.1 hours from a sample of high-performing schools in California, when the recommended time on homework is, at most, one hour each night. Homework has been mandated work for students all around the country, and several others, and the workload seems to only be increasing, and so, how might this workload affect a student’s ability to live a healthy life, a teacher’s work plan, and a psychologist’s view of an enormous workload on a student?
In many American households, homework is the main cause of stress. Some people think that America is not so well and adding more homework will fix that problem. A study by Indiana University found that students who do more homework tend to get higher scores on standardized tests” (“Do Kids Need Homework?”). “Plus, part of growing up is learning to balance outside activities and the demands of schoolwork” (“Should Parents Help Kids With Homework?). Teachers have their reasons as well. “Teachers say homework is important in the learning process and can help kids develop study and organizational skills. They say kids need to practice what they've learned in school so that the material sticks in their brain” (Strauss). “Having too much homework
When you think about school one of the first things that pops into people’s mind is homework. Basically if you have asked your parents or your grandparents they would say that they remember the homework load. Now we all know that homework can be beneficial but also can be very unhealthy with all of the stress that it causes. Over the years the homework load has increased because of the fact that schools think that they need to try to keep up with other countries in academics. And will doing all of this homework now be all for nothing later? The homework load has increased these past couple of years and it is causing a lot of stress on kids and overall is not helping their academics in the long run.
Homework, a single word that carries differing opinions amongst varied individuals. With the debate of homework at the forefront of many schools and classroom teachers, there are two positions to consider. Before taking a side and conducting research, we began by simply looking at what the word homework means. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines homework as, “an assignment given to a student to be completed outside the regular class period” (2017). The concept of homework is one that has been recently highly debated. With every school’s ‘hot topic’ there are pros and cons to be discovered. Looking at the topic of homework, the list seems to grow exponentially as our world rapidly changes.
It is a well known fact that students of various ages and schools are assigned homework, although the motive for giving said homework may vary depending on the teacher. However, the debate about whether homework is helping or hindering education is at a stalemate. Stated simply, homework is work assigned by teachers that students should complete at home or any other non-school setting. Just how effective is homework in the long run? Is it just adding unnecessary stress to students without truly adding enough positivity to make the homework worth it? Although homework can seem burdensome, it undoubtedly solidifies concepts learned in class and aids in the development of timeless skills such as time management and accountability.
c.Thesis Statement: In the past couple of years, the amount homework has been a controversial issue about whether it helps a lot, helps only a little and needs decreased, or helps none at all and needs abolished.
Homework is an ineffective benchmarking method for estimating a student’s ability, quite simply because many factors are involved in the completion of homework. Earlier, it was explained that students are unlikely to complete homework if it is too difficult, i.e. not taught in class, or simply skimmed over, but also if they are poverty-stricken or simply demoralized by the assignment in one way or another. Some teachers hold the philosophy that “more is better” when it comes to homework, and like to think that headlines like "Study finds homework boosts achievement" mean homework is a good idea that is flawlessly effective. However, this seems to be more properly translated as "A relentless regimen of after-school drills that can possibly raise scores a little on tests" according to Valerie Strauss (Strauss, Homework: An unncessary evil? Surprising findings from new
The lack of parent support plus a confusing homework assignment may lead to a discouraged student. As someone who hopes to teach in an inner city school system, I believe it is very crucial to understand the students’ background and adjust the classroom accordingly. I am interested in learning if the benefits of having assigned homework outweigh the negatives. This research can help determine student success in my classroom. I want all my students to be successful and would feel discouraged if homework was the reason student grades began to slip. I am curious if classroom work alone is enough to keep grades and understanding of material
Homework. It is word that haunts anyone from adolescents to adults. Even though it's sole purpose is to educate students, homework seems to have ingrained a negative connotation among everyone in society. There is no doubt that homework has helped students improve their academic performance, but there is a point where it becomes overkill. From personal experience, I found myself drowning in homework in high school. Every night would consist of coming home after practice, and working for an average of four hours on assignments. At the end of high school, I realized I was just doing homework to get it out of the way, and it wasn’t helping me grow academically. I know that thousands of students feel the same way, and it is a true flaw in our education system. Although homework has helped students grow academically, ultimately the effects of too much homework have brought unhealthy amounts of stress, inability for students to explore their interests, and a reduced social skills.
“Why has it been accepted as gospel for so long that homework is necessary? The answer, I think, lies not in the perceive virtues of homework but rather in the clear deficiencies of what happens in the classroom. Homework becomes necessary because not enough learning happens during the school day... The broadcast, one-pace-fits-all lecture... turns out to be a highly inefficient way to teach and learn.”
Images of children and teenagers sitting at the kitchen table with books surrounding them, or sitting at desks secluded in their room, for hours on end, dutifully studying for the next day’s exam has been around for quite some time. But recent studies have shown that just because a child is doing homework, does not mean he or she is learning (Kohn). The fact is, the homework teachers have assigned has gone up dramatically. In 1981, children ages six to nine received about 44 minutes of homework a week. By 1997, children six to nine were receiving almost two hours of homework a week (Chaika) That number has almost tripled. Though supporters have pointed out the many benefits of homework over the years, which may have led to the increase of
The debate over homework has become a controversial one throughout the years. Most of the general population is on the uprise to stop homework, while education providers try to endure its existence. While the general population see homework as a burden and unnecessary, the real idea of homework creates an obvious path of success. Part of that path to success is do to the instructors use of homework in the correct manner. While the other path, is the completion and practice a student puts forth for the understanding of the topic at hand. We create the sense of, why homework? Previous research has helped show a usefulness of homework throughout our education system (e.g. Kenny, 2013; Marzano, 2007; Jorgenson, 2013; Griffith, 2013; Dejka, 2014). While research has been conducted, there is never one concise choice that everyone can agree with. That is why the topic of homework is of such high debate. The idea of homework, though, gives us the opportunity to expand our learning and preparing us for what lies ahead.