Essay about Excessive Dependence on Homework in American Schools

Homework is a large contributing factor to a student’s stress.Researchers surveyed students in 10 high-performing schools in California, and found that 56% of the students stated that homework was a primary stressor (Strauss). Reducing the amount of homework would be more beneficial to students than not. As students go throughout the school day the homework they get from each class piles up. Many students believe that homework is pointless since some teachers never look it over, and give a small amount of points for all of their work. Now this is not to say that homework should be worth more points. Rather, the amount of homework should be equal to the

In the early twentieth century, the brain was seen as a muscle that had to be strengthened. They believed that with every piece of information they learned, their brain would physically grow. Therefore, most teachers during this time period’s response was to assign more and more homework. Although some students saw positive results, the majority did not. This led to a national crisis; more students were dropping out of school than ever before. Reformers at the time believed that homework was a sin, as it increased negative attitudes towards learning, deprived students of time to relax or complete any tasks that were not school related, and it had the ability to cause several different health problems. Now over a hundred years later, 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

“Homework puts pressure on both kids and parents.” The things students learn on a regular bases parents did not learn back when they were in school and if they did it had a new method of doing it. The stress level of kids always studying and doing homework on a daily basis is making them overwhelming. “Homework takes away our personal time no student wants to come home and do more work on what they were already doing for the past 6 hours anyway.”

There are many key components of every student’s high school experience: classes, social events, planning for the future, and, of course, homework. Some get more assignments than others depending on the rigor of one’s courses, but everyone is bound to be assigned homework in high school; in some cases, it can make or break students’ GPAs. Despite its appearances in nearly every high school across the country and the world, homework has become a hotly debated topic as of late due to increasing quantities of assignments and the immense pressure put on students to complete them. Some feel that it’s the natural course of the education system, while some believe that it’s all becoming nearly uncontrollable. The different perspectives on this issue have put teachers, parents, students, and

Schools have a tremendous job that the American society expects them to uphold and keep on standard. That job is educating our youth to be the next leaders and figures in generations to come. This requires schools to adapt and incorporate appropriate techniques and procedures that will in the end provide kids the best education possible. However one of those tools, homework, has taken a decline when it comes to the minds of young children in the elementary schools of the L.A. county school district. According to an Edutopia research study, “young students are still developing study habits like concentration and self-regulation” (Terada ,1) translating into the loss of homework’s value and validity within the context of children. There needs to be a clear instruction to outline the specifics of limiting the number of hours and the types of homework assignments a child in the grades 1st-4th has to work on outside of class, while at the same time supplementing this policy by providing a diversified after school program able to reach any child’s needs. This educational policy will in turn revamp the educational value embedded in homework from the perspectives of children and set them on a path to be successful all while maintaining the youthfulness of being a child.

In high school, you are assigned six daily classes. Each class wants you to excel in its subject. In order to really excel, you must succeed in completing the heavy load of homework assigned by each classroom. Even the student that does not have outside school activities, can be challenged by completion of the daunting task of completing the daily homework load. Collected from my own experience and the experiences of other students, the homework assignments amount to somewhere between three to five hours of activity. While not every night is that homework intensive, the overall demand to complete the amount of homework necessary for success is so great, it affects the students’ lives. Information from the National

Homework is given frequently in many of the core classes in order to help students practice and retain the information that is taught. It is typically divided throughout a ‘chapter.’ The concept of homework in itself is excellent, however, there needs to be a clear boundary acquired in how much is too much. Furthermore, students are often given daily homework assignments from at least one class, some of which may not be as extensive as others. Sometimes, students truly comprehend the classroom material beforehand and simply do not need the extra practice, yet are still forced to do it for the ‘grade.’ On the contrary, there are those who feel as if homework should continue to be assigned at the current rate, if not an even greater amount in order to increase the challenge set upon the students. However, this idea presents conflict and many students disapprove on account of already feeling pressured enough with the current portion of work assigned.

A study conducted by Stanford University found that students in middle to high income school districts receive on average three hours of homework every night. After an extensive day brimming with classes who would yearn to go home and immediately undertake this additional burden of homework? Unfortunately for most students this is precisely what they have to do; this is particularly challenging for those who partake in extracurricular activities. These students stay up later to study, otherwise the abundance of homework handed out by teachers would never get completed. The overload of homework students receive on a daily basis is detrimental to their well being, for it results in a debilitating surge of stress levels, an inadequate development of life skills, and deprivation of necessary sleep.

American children (and children from developed countries in general) reluctantly attend school for several hours each week. Of course, there are some kids who really do enjoy going to school, but they are a minority. We feel guilty for complaining about school, because we all know there are so many kids across the globe that do not have the right to an education, yet students of all ages dread going. There must be some flaw in the system that causes people to react this way. Of course, there are endless amounts of theories and opinions about what is wrong with school systems, but I would argue that homework is a main reason.

Cosumnes River college students are being assigned too much homework from their classes than needed and it is affecting them in a negative way. The amount of homework students receives has been talked about for several years and it is still a big topic. While doing research on this issue I came forth on subjects that related more to why too much homework is bad for students rather than why it is good. Most researchers and statistics display that a smaller amount of homework is essential for student’s education because homework is commonly graded for completion and not the performance. According to the National Parent-Teacher Association, a college student should have around 120 minutes of homework a day (“Research spotlight on”). I believe

Homework is assigned mainly to reinforce ideas taught in the classroom, but some teachers are simply giving too much homework, and some of it is non-essential, or as some teachers call it, “busy-work”. “Nevertheless, as much as you might dread it, homework is an important part of our learning. For one thing, it enables us to comprehend and practice what we’ve learned throughout the day. Because of the lack of time a teacher has to completely explain a topic, a student might not have enough time to grasp everything that was taught in class,” says Ruth Mekonnen, the author of an article entitled “Too Much Homework”, which focuses on the negative aspects of homework. Because a student has homework to complete in their other classes, they might not have sufficient time to complete it, often influencing a “student to copy someone else’s work, find the answers online, or even have one of their parents complete it for them” (“Too Much Homework”). She thinks that plagiarism has gotten completely out of hand. Furthermore, without sufficient time to complete homework, students often feel stressed, and this has many consequences on the teen mind and body.

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

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.

Many teachers assign large amounts of homework to students. Unfortunately this causes a lot of stress, loss of time, or decrease in homework quality and effectiveness. Too much homework is not worth the extra effort put out by teachers and students, and teachers should take consideration to the well-being of the students by encouraging them to learn and get the schoolwork done effectively and correctly. Student’s careers and lives often depend on what they learn in school, and what is taught can make a huge impression on their opinions and attitudes, so it is imperative that they are taught in a manner that is effective and understandable. Large amounts of homework are not the most effective ways to teach.