Why we should not assign homework.
In the words of Jack Prelutsky, “Homework! Oh, Homework! You’re last on my list, I simply can’t see why you even exist”. Prelutsky’s poem “Homework! Oh, Homework!” conveys the thoughts of students around the world about the terrible burden of homework. Contrary to the popular belief that homework is beneficial to students, research is now showing that it is detrimental to the student’s mental, physical, and social health.
Homework was not a popular concept in the United States until the 1950's. It was very discouraged in American culture because many kids had chores to do after school and children needed time to play. In the 1950's; However, homework became a popular notion in the United States for American children to stay ahead of the Russians in the Cold War. Homework became an unquestionable staple in our schooling system until recent years. Early in the 20th Century, the anti-homework movement grew.
Many people believe that homework is beneficial. They believe that it teaches responsibility and helps with the over all education of students. However, the negative effects of homework are so large in number that the benefits become negligible.
A main reason that the anti-homework movement has grown so much in recent years is that research is showing that homework causes extra stress in students' lives. In 2013, a Stanford University study showed that homework is causing great amounts of unneeded stress in the lives of American
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.
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
Homework has been around a long time. In fact, the first school made in the world was believed to be built sometime between 140 BC and 143 BC. While studies have proven that homework can have benefits, too much of it can be bad for students. Homework can take away their time for family/activities and can cause negative health effects. The amount of homework assigned to students should be decreased.
Roberto Nevilis, a teacher in Venice, changed history when he created the first use of homework in 1095. Since then, students’ opinions of homework haven’t changed. Roberto Nevilis started homework as a way of punishing his students for not doing their work. Nowadays, homework is assigned to help students receive more practice for what they learned in school that day. Despite the good intentions that homework is supposed to provide, it actually proves more harm than good. In the twenty-first century, the increase of homework negatively affects American teens’ sleep schedules, stress levels, and after school opportunities. Parent involvement in homework can turn into parent interference.
Homework should be kept in schools because homework helps kids reach higher achievement by extending learning beyond the school day and, increasing their advantages. According to Marzano, a researcher in education, “...the most important advantage of homework is that it can enhance achievement by extending learning beyond the school day.” This shows that children who do homework learn more than children who don't because they spend more time doing work outside of school than other children do. Another way homework helps kids with higher achievement is that students who don't do their homework will not see any increase in their achievement in
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.
Homework, homework, everyone hates homework. People are up all night doing something that they think is such a waste of time! Well is it a waste of time? Most people think so! Infact most people think it has no effect at all! homework has had a huge impact on sleeping, time and grades. Grades k-12 have seen a dramatic change in homework. Changes that happened recently. The evidence shows that homework may not be harmful, but it sure is not helping.
Educators in America have been assigning homework as a mandatory part of students' education for years. In the early 1900's, the Ladies Home Journal movement claimed homework was detrimental to students' health, and since then homework has been highly debated as to whether homework is beneficial for students' education. There have been different homework movements and stances throughout the last century. In the 1900s there was a movement in America that advocated for the termination of homework. In the 1940s-1960's, debates shifted from abolishing homework, to reforming homework to better suit the individual student. Then, most recently, the launch of Sputnik boosted the pro-homework movement (SFGATE). Teachers, parents and students across
Did you know that homework can be noneducational? Or even lead to students not being able to work? The first reason why homework is bad is because it can cause one to be extremely stressed. The second why homework is bad is because it can cause sleep deprivation. The third reason why homework is bad is because if the teacher is forcing the students to do lots of homework it will interfere with the students necessary free time.
The first reason why homework does not benefit students is that it's bad for their health. According to the article “Remodeling Homework” by the LA Times research shows that a lot of students regularly receive more homework than recommended, which causes stress and other bad health effects. This shows that homework is not benefiting students, but punishing them. Making kids do unnecessary homework leads to stress and that will definitely not help them in any way. Also in the Article “Should Schools Be Done With Homework?” by Edward Gram, it states that another way homework negatively affects students is by causing lack of sleep. I know this first hand from being busy all day and then having to stay up late and make sure that I finish my homework. This is even worse for the students in higher grades or students that get a lot of
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.
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.
In 2008 the MetLife American Teacher series polled students, teachers, and parents on their feelings and thoughts about homework and the results were as follows; one-third of parents rated the quality of homework given as fair or poor, one-quarter of students say that they as if their homework is busywork and unrelated to what they were learning in class (MetLife). But, one of the leading reasons that people support homework in elementary levels is because they believe it can kick-start healthy and even necessary habits. These habits include; time-management, study skills, independent working, etc. It is unrealistic to expect students to gain important life skills from poorly created and unrealistic homework.
Homework is essential in a student life, but that does not mean it is always a wonderful task to receive. Homework is not necessarily bad, but it can improve in many ways. In a 2004 report demonstrated that homework is even “becoming a routine part of the kindergarten experience.” It’s deranged that little kids around the ages of 6-7 years old are having homework every night to bring home. Younger children shouldn’t be getting homework every night, they should be getting it at least once or twice a week. If kids at a younger age get homework a couple times a week, it would benefit their health and spent time to go and get activity at a younger age. It is beneficial that getting some amount of work to take home, as kids can practice more on the material they learn and can also learn about responsibility when turning in homework. There is no evidence that states that homework below high school age benefits in standardized test, but that doesn’t mean giving a great deal of work is any better on their test scores. In the article Down with Homework, it states “No study has ever confirmed the widely accepted assumption that homework yields nonacademic benefits-self-discipline, independence, perseverance, or better time-management skills-for students of any age.” Homework is more proven to be essential in school than real life scenarios, which is pretty true, the only real thing is writing more and more can help in life, as you will always need writing skills in your life.
In recent years, the abolition of homework has been a hotly debated topic in the educational field. During the early 20th century, educators held the belief that homework strengthened students minds and created a sense of responsibility as well as developed good time management skills. However, in recent years, growing concerns that homework interferes with home activities and takes valuable free time out of student’s lives have gotten more and more attention. Research has also shown that excessive amounts of homework has lead to tremendous amounts of stress for students, as well as parents. In China, unfinished and excessive amounts of homework has lead students to commit suicide. Schools assign and expect too