On average, American high school teachers assign approximately 3.5 hours of homework each week, meaning that teens with multiple classes spend around 17.5 hours a week working on these assignments. In only 13 years, the percentage of teens that claim they spend an hour on homework each day has increased to 45%, from the 39% in 1994 (Bidwell). Parents and students across the country are beginning to spot the flaws in these homework methods, however, claiming that academics are merely being memorized instead of thoroughly taught. Is homework truly helping America’s students? To the majority of high schoolers, the answer is clear: homework is unnecessary for academic development. Over the years, multiple studies have shown that teachers with little experience give their students more …show more content…
The Department of Education claims that 1-3 hours of homework daily can improve grades in both math, science, and English. Pam Sammons, a professor at Oxford University, says that increasing the amount of homework in public schools would drastically improve students’ grades (Vasagar). According to multiple studies, however, the average middle or high schooler spends around 3.5 hours on homework daily - almost an hour more than the recommended amount (Bidwell). As math, science, and English only make up a portion of the average school’s core subjects, many classes would fail to benefit from this sudden and drastic increase of homework. Homework has been present in schools for decades; it’s been ingrained into our culture and lifestyle. In recent years, however, many have begun to take notice of the negative effects and unnecessary stress it’s putting on America’s students. The effectiveness and benefits of after-school work have not been questioned until now, when studies and polls have begun to show just how damaging it is. Will American schools ever make a change in homework culture, or will grades continue to
A longitudinal analysis of NAEP data by the Brookings Institution’s Tom Loveless in 2014 found that more 9-year-olds were regularly doing homework than their parents' generation: In 1984, 35% of students reported no homework the previous night. By 2012, that had shrunk to 22%. But the share of 9-year-olds reporting an hour or more of homework was also down by two percentage points in that same period, from 19% to 17%. The percentage reporting less than an hour of homework had risen from 41% to 57%. Loveless also found that 27% of 17-year-olds reported having no homework. And the share of 17-year-olds who spent more than two hours a night on homework remained unchanged at 13%. This shows that a lot of students are having homework. Kirkwood High School was trying an experiment for the sake of student and teacher mental health. Some schools across the country have already tried discarding homework, and many reports success and positive feedback from students and
David Mills’s article published in Healthline, “Is Too Much Homework Bad for Kids’ Health?” is a piece focused upon the extensive amount of time consumed by homework by students of all ages as well as the subsequent health effects that typically result from the issue. With the assistance of multiple studies, Mills argues that current students are highly exceeding the national standard of allotted time for homework and instead recommends several alternatives to the problem, such as primarily focusing upon the assignments that they deem as of appropriate and beneficial quality. Although he specifically asserts that refusing to do the work altogether is one of the best methods to easily relieve the increasing pressure felt by students in vigorous schooling systems, it actually has the opposite effect: by delaying the work until later, students fall into an endless cycle of being
The debate regarding exactly how much homework is too much homework has been an ongoing debate for years. As of right now, there seems to be no end in sight for this debate. Various adults believe that if children do not obtain homework, then they are not learning properly. However, numerous children are obtaining a substantial amount of homework per night, as well as per each class. Once a child exceeds a certain amount of homework, then it is no longer beneficial for the child’s education. An excessive amount of homework can essentially become harmful to the child’s education. As a result, teachers are struggling with finding the right amount of homework to assign to students. The National Education Association as well as the National Parent-Teacher Association endorse the “10-minute rule” for teachers to follow when assigning homework to students. If a child is assigned an excessive amount of homework, then the child might experience more harm than good when attempting to complete the assigned homework.
Homework not only takes up time but it pressures and stresses kids out. “Fifty-six per cent of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their lives, despite the fact that most U.S. students' homework load has remained relatively stable since 1984, according to the Brookings Institute's 2014 Brown Center Report on American Education”(Daily Mail Reporter). “Fifty-six per cent of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their
Students, parents, teachers, administrators and other interested parties all seem to have strong and different feelings towards homework. Students complain that they have too much homework to complete outside of the hours they already attended classes. Students feel that they have personal lives to live and blow off homework while some parents and teachers believe that homework is the key to passing classes and preparation for college. This leads to teachers feeling pressured to push their students to succeed and this can easily get carried away. Parents and school systems still often discuss the topic of homework today. Should homework in school systems be stopped?
In today’s day and age, a most common belief by most members of society is that homework is a great way to engrave what you learned in class that day into your brain. Many people believe that taking home a worksheet that covers what you learned in class today not only engraves it into your brain, but it keeps your brain thinking and in turn you will do better on tests and quizzes. It is my belief that we are assigned too much homework. Not only does the school expect us to show up and attend class every day, but they also expect us to take home worksheets and work on them when most of us don’t really have time to do school work at home. There are tons of us who have other commitments outside of school, many of us play a club sport, are involved in our community and a great number of us have jobs and work after school.
Historically, homework has been an essential aspect of the American educational system because teachers assign homework to enhance students’ learning outcomes. According to Cooper, homework involves tasks assigned to students by schoolteachers; these tasks are meant to be carried out during noninstructional
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.
“While the morning get-up-get-ready-get-to-school-and-work rush is bad enough, the afternoons can be just as tiring. Parents are exhausted from working and running around all day and kids are tired from being in school. And now it's time for homework.” “Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were “not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,” according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.”
Homework, that terrible word that gives any high school or college graduate PTSD. Homework is a daily thing in a student life and it can become overwhelming. Its standard in school, but in recent years its become overly stressful and the workload has increased. The average high school student in the U.S. has about 17.5 hours of homework a week, divide that by 5 days in a week is 3.5 hours of homework each night, and if the average student is at school from around 7:30 to 3:00, that is 7.5 hours at school. Add 7.5 hours at school to 3.5 hours of homework at night you have spent 11 hours in school. Health studies say that teenagers should be getting around 9 -9 ½ hours of sleep. Now, remember there are 24 hours in a day. So 11 plus 9 is 19 hours that leaves 5 hours in the day for eating, sports, relaxing, or even working if you have a job. This is a statistic from 2017. In 2011 studies showed the average student spent about 6.8 hours doing homework, and in 1994 a survey should that the average 17-year-old had about an hour of homework a week. (A WEEK) This increase in hours spent doing homework is a problem. And it is a problem that has dramatically increased in the past 10 years. Many people argue that homework is an essential part to school, while others believe student spend enough time in school already and their time outside of school should be spent with extracurriculars, playing sports, relaxing, spending time with family and getting enough sleep. The debate over
Most students are probably thinking “no homework is stupid” . But, believe it or not, homework is good for you. Homework creates a bridge between school and home. Homework allows your parents to keep up with what you're doing in class. Studying is also another form of homework. In fact, according to “Is Homework Good For Kids?” it states that “Children should spend time studying each day, even if they don't have any homework” (Reilly 1). Even though some kids may say that homework doesn't leave them enough time to do other things at home, they should still receive it because it can help them practice what they are learning, develop work ethic skills, and learn time management.
Elementary education is something many people are familiar with. Some may have taught in elementary schools, researched elementary education, or at the least, attended elementary school. School work and projects assigned to be completed at home are a large part of primary education, and most people who have completed grades one through six have experienced homework themselves, but does familiarity mean necessity? How important is homework in elementary education? Is it helpful or possibly even harmful? Educators and psychologists have conducted many studies on homework in elementary education, and it is an important subject (Healy). Children learn and refine routines and skills related to school in their elementary years (Healy). Even though homework is often considered a requirement of education, the benefits of homework for elementary age children are inconclusive, and homework has been shown to degrade young students morale and lower test scores (Reilly). Homework should be greatly reduced or even banned in elementary schools.
Homework has been the long dreaded mundane assignment that students worldwide have to suffer from. It increases at an exponential rate as one progresses up the ladder called grade school. In the typical American high school, teachers become known not for who they are as a person, but rather the workload they assign. Often students don’t get the chance to receive proper feedback on their homework, and isn’t graded until after several days or weeks after the due date, therefore rendering homework as a waste of time. Take Dylan for example. After a long day of school, he is sitting at his desk at 12:17 A.M, struggling with his AP Chemistry homework. He knows Chemistry forwards and backwards, but having to do 45 conceptual and repetitive problems is a whole different story. Getting very frustrated, he shut his book and made his way to his bed, away from the mental torture, knowing that it’s not gaining him any benefit, and deciding that getting a zero would be a bitter pill to swallow, especially when his knowledge of Chemistry is inaccurately reflected by a letter on his report card. Although homework gives students a chance to succeed in a very competitive world, it takes up a lot of time in the day, it doesn’t help students grow academically, and it also takes a toll on the personal lives and the health of many students.
Late nights, eyes only kept open by ungodly amounts of coffee, and never ending piles of paper: these are all symptoms of the nation-sweeping homework epidemic. Students are assigned hours upon hours of after school homework every day — but is it really necessary? Oftentimes, homework causes more harm than good on the mental, physical, and social health of students; therefore, after school assignments should be limited to the four core classes, minimizing those loads as much as possible, because more homework does not necessarily lead to highly successful students, immense amounts of stress are put on students every day, and an eight hour school day should be enough to disseminate the information needed.
Homework may be thought of to help kids improve their test scores and studies, but this common misconception has our whole school systems fooled beyond belief. Over the years, the study of this controversial topic has been operated heavily. For example, Duke University psychology professor Harris Cooper conducted studies called the 2006 Meta Analysis that are heavily renowned in the community. some studies he examined showed homework can cause physical and emotional fatigue, fuel negative attitudes about learning and limit leisure time for children. This is beyond true nowadays, where our school systems push kids to sleep less, stress more, and spend less time with family. The fact that most of us students get less than the recommended 8 hours a night and are given on average one hour of homework per class is awful to