Is Homework a Burden or a Benefit?

The debate on homework has come up once again because much research has shown that it’s not very effective. But first what is Homework? “At the beginning of the twentieth century the term homework… referred to labor done to pay in one’s home, and in particular to sewing and other manual work which filled the afternoons and evenings of many young children in large cities” (Homework Destroys Family Life). Homework was considered to be work the children did at home such as chores or actual job outside the home. Over time the term evolved when education became more important and child labor laws were passed to enforce children to focus on education instead of working. This debate is not anything new because this has come up in many centuries before.

One pro of homework is that it make up for the not enough time students go to school and learn. Even though teachers give students activities to do in class, giving them assignments to do at home can give them a better understanding on the subject. Advocates believe that giving students that extra time to solve problems is an important to their learning. Homework is also an effective way for students to learn discipline. Giving homework is one way of teaching young individuals and growing students to and put aside unimportant activities and getting their tasks done. Not giving students school work can lead to them being lazy. Another benefit is that parents can see

As stated by an online source, Parents worry their children may not get into a good college without a rigorous amount of work ("Introduction to Do Students Have Too Much Homework?: At Issue"). Younger children particularly do not yet have the skills to manage and complete their school work on their own, so parents have to take time out of their schedules to help their kids do the work. Not only that, but routine family meals and quality time is often impossible to fit in, especially when there is more than one in the family that has homework. Ponte mentions, some argue that homework teaches kids responsibility and organizational skills valuable for success (Ponte). In actuality, however, the only thing homework really tests students on is how good they are at organizing their time by sacrificing what they need to allow time for schoolwork. Children should instead learn responsibility from things like chores. Most parents do not require their kids to stay up even later after their homework to do laundry, which they will definitely need to be able to do in life. Less homework leaves more time for enforcing pertinent responsibilities and practicing life

All this extra work is usually chalked up to be something that will help a student learn the topic, but if teachers are doing their jobs to get the important points across and time is being used well in class, than it should not be necessary. In an absence of homework students can instead spend the time usually wasted on often rushed, under quality work, studying the way that best suits them, or participating in an activity that will ease their stress from the long tiring days of school.

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?

Heavy loads of homework can be shown more as harmful than good, not only for students but also for their families. As shown in Source B it says, “It is the primary arena in which children, parents and schools interact on a daily basis” (Gill and Schossman). Which I can totally disagree with from my experience, stating that every time I come from school to home, I always have to go straight to my room, turn my computer on, and either work on essays or have to search up problems for my algebra assignments, or just information for any class in general, which takes up a whole day of my life. Another reason is it is very time consuming! These homeworks are always getting in my way of either having activities after school or just time to spend with my family, which I hardly ever have a chance to do because of all the work I have, and might I also state that my mom is always worrying about my health since I usually don’t have time to eat too, also she is always asking me if I have time to read the bible with my siblings and father, which I automatically have to state I can’t because again of all this work. Another statement I have is how homework is mainly useless to our education, grabbing information from Source F, “Kids who wouldn’t dream of cheating on a test or copying a research paper think nothing of copying homework” (Chaika). Since doing homework is just such a waste for us we usually just copy it either from other people or from the internet, and since math class usually just gives a packet about what is going to be on the quiz, we end up using that to study which ends up being more helpful for the upcoming test rather than doing

Some believe homework is just stressful. Students should not be given homework on a nightly basis. Article 3 states “It was reported in a study that 89% of American students in grades 3 through 12 felt stressed about homework”.

“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.”

Without homework kids will be at a big disadvantage in the future. Homework provides higher achievement, responsibility and, homework creates time for parents to bond with their children. So, Is homework really a

Homework. Just by the sound of that word, the aggravating feeling arises. Students of all ages ask the question, “Why do we have homework?” Whether we like it or not, homework will be assigned to students no matter what. The real question happens to be, is homework helpful or harmful? Many people state that homework takes up too much time and has effects on health, while others argue that homework benefits the student because it allows them to have extra time to study and practice their skills. Furthermore, research indicates that homework is harmful due to the fact that it causes stress and takes time from a persons’ daily life.

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.

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.

As it should be known students should not be assigned homework. Homework decreases the time students have for extra curricular activities. Students should have enough time to still be able to participate in after school activities. Learning from this we can understand homework is a long activity that is partly pointless. Coming from this we know homework is starting to cut into the students sports and clubs which is making students not have some of their own time to do what they like. Students should always every single day have some of their own time.

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.

The general arguments given by teachers and some parents are that homework increases the overall grade averages, sharpens study habits, and helps students become more prepared for college work. Along with that, it helps students learn responsibility for life in the work field of the real work. Although these arguments are valid, there are arguments against homework as well. Homework causes students to be stressed out when there is too much to be done by a certain deadline and takes away the free time of students. Some of the work that students are assigned isn't relevant to what they are studying. Worst of all, it causes that struggling student to lose interest in the study of that subject ("Students and Homework"). While it does have negative outcomes, homework also has it's perks.