Persuasive Essay Homework

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

“Homework is arguably the worst punishment inflicted upon the student body.” One would think this extreme statement would come from the 10-year boys and girls who complain to their parents about the homework they have to complete. However, Rodney Jones starts of his argument against homework using this statement. He argues that homework does not help children taking up all their time. Continuing, he explains how parents should extend child’s knowledge out of school instead of homework and in the end these assignments do not help students grade. However, in contrast of Jones’ beliefs homework indeed benefits children’s learning through the small amounts of extra practice it gives to help the students excel.

The study concluded, “The results of such studies suggest that homework can improve students’ scores on the class tests” (Cooper). When looking at the conclusion of the study, it is easy to correlate studying at home with a students’ academic success. The study also found that, “The correlation was stronger for older students” (Cooper). Cooper also states, “Across five studies, the average student who did homework had a higher unit test score than the students not doing homework” (Cooper). When reading Cooper’s study, it is very important to differentiate those who do the homework given between those who do not complete the homework assigned. Students who receive homework but do not complete it take away from the overall effect it would have had if that said student completed the given assignments. It is also important to keep in mind the fact that the amount of time spent on homework each night is increased per capita as grade level is increased. The assigning of homework should fluctuate depending on grade level. Due to an earlier stage in brain development, a second grade student should not be assigned the same amount of homework as a college student. Referencing studies and research, it is logically sound to conclude that homework helps students absorb and retain information compared to those who do not complete it. 20/20

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?

Homework has been at the front of school reform since the early 1900’s. Debates over the benefits of homework include “immediate impact on the retention and understanding of the material it covers” (Cooper, 1989, p.86) and downsides of homework include “satiation, denial of access to leisure time and community activities; parental interference; cheating; and increased differences between high and low achievers” (Cooper, 2006, p.7) have led to a see-saw of support and objection regarding homework. There is support from several studies (Maltese, Tai, Fan, 2012; Cooper, Robinson, Patall, 2006; Falkenberg & Barbetta, 2013) that cite homework as a source of increasing students’ achievement level. None of the

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

It has been said that “with all the homework students start to think less creatively and they might lose the learning to try and avoid challenging tasks” (Kohn). The fact that homework is able to make the students lose what they are learning is perhaps the most important reason that is is not beneficial. Homework has been seen as a way to increase learning and practice what students are learning, but with too much homework it can defeat the purpose. Students are getting much more work that is harder, because the schools are receiving stricter standards from the government that they must follow. But “the main effect ‘of the drive for so-called higher standards in schools is that the children are too busy to think,’as said by John Holt in 1959” (Kohn). Students are not being able to think creatively, because they are tied to standards and homework. “For students to become lifelong learners and good people, we need to work with them rather than using techniques like rewards and punishments, which merely do things to them” as said by Alfie Kohn, author of the book The Schools our Children Deserve (Kohn). Students see large amounts of homework as a punishment, and as said by Alfie Kohn that “merely does things to them” (Kohn). Homework should not be given in amounts where it starts to be counterproductive, and is no longer helping the students learn or think

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.

In “The Trouble with Homework” by Annie Murphy Paul for The New York Times, she says that “The quantity of students’ homework is a lot less important than its quality.”-Murphy Paul. The article reveals students in this decade have more homework ever before because most of it is busy work. It can be concluded homework done just to get credit is pointless.

What the public is concerned about is if homework should even be assigned? Homework was contrived to prepare students and help them engage them in the content being taught. Homework also enacts time management skills and responsibility of growing young adults. Although the debate about if homework should be given minimally or in discretion and that homework has no verified benefits still stands. Homework is necessary for causing students to be engaged in the content taught and delivers time management skills for the future.

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

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.

Has a teacher ever come to the thought about their students and realize that the students have stuff to do at home. Most students don't have any free time because they are usually busy and doing their own stuff. Kids still have to do chores at home as well as spend time with their family. There are kids that dont even have time for their family because they're always so involved in doing their homework. Some teachers give out homework everyday and even on weekend which is too much to handle.

Students all across the country are suffering from the same dilemma, homework! It may not be seen as a dilemma or even a problem but rather as something helpful to the learning process. From a student’s point of view, however, homework is one of the top causes of stress throughout high school. With the expectation to take about 6 to 7 classes a day, the amount of homework each teacher assigns starts to pile up and the workload gets overwhelming. No one wants to sit at a table wrecking their brain trying to figure out how to complete something they have no interest in. Is a student’s willingness and ability to learn not important? They can both be effected by the amount of stress that a huge workload of homework can cause. This is why teachers should decrease the amount of homework they assign and modify it to make it more balanced and challenging yet interesting and not time consuming. The amount of stress students face would diminish and students would still be learning.

Have you ever heard a the bell go off signaling the end of the school day and you just want to get home and relax, but you remember you have a ton of homework to do? This constantly happens to me all the time. A lot times I get homework from multiple classes all in one day. Often after school I have sports which already takes up enough time. Usually I get my assignments turned in on time, but to the expense of spending time with friends or family. Sometimes when I get home and start doing my homework I might struggle with the topic and there isn't a teacher there to help me, so I'm left trying to search for websites that might help me or ask my parents to help. Having homework on a daily basis is causing problems for me, and I think incorporating time in the school day can really help in solving this issue.