Should Students Be Assigned Too Much Homework Research

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.

Homework has changed drastically over the past several decades. One of the biggest changes is how much is assigned. Whether this is a good idea, or a terrible idea, has always been the subject of a lot of controversy.

Having too much homework causes students large amounts of stress and lack of sleep that can cause health problems. On a survey that Stanford researchers tested on 4317 students, fifty-six percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, forty-three percent of the students viewed tests as a primary stressor, thirty-three percent put pressure to get good grades in that category (Parker). Less than one percent of the students said that homework was not a stressor (Parker). That means that about 4273 students considered homeword a stressor, while less than 50 out of 4317 students believed homework to not be a stressor. Out of the students surveyed, the average amount of homework was three hours and six minutes of homework (Greicius). The large amount of homework causes large amounts of stress, but it also causes sleep deprivation and other health problems such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation,

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

Everyday, when the school day is over, students are most likely to get homework to do when they get home. This can be a lot or a little amount of homework, but it can still effect the students the way they are. These effects can be good, bad, or nothing, so today, we take a look whether homework should be assigned or not.

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 has been around for many years, and parents have had many questions and concerns about the impact it has on their children. Kate McReynolds states in her article Homework that, “In 1957, the Soviet launch of Sputnik challenged the intellectual and military might of the United States. The New York Times ran a series of articles describing the Soviet educational system as superior to the United States’ system. Congress passed the National Defense Education Act and America’s youngsters were charged with restoring the nation’s competitive edge” (2). This means that schools are under the pressure to make sure their students excel and work extremely hard. So by doing so, they assign homework, which will progress to other issues for the students.

When giving homework, teachers should follow the ten minute rule which means that students get 10 minutes of homework per grade. For example, if a student is in third grade then they should get 30 minutes of homework a night. Cooper recommends that teachers follow this rule and do not give more homework than that because it can lead to negative experiences, feelings, and cause students stress. Therefore, it is important to focus on the quality of homework that we are assigning and the subject matter. Parental involvement is encouraged during the younger years but should be gradually reduced as the students get older. Teachers should make sure that their parents have the skills needed in order to teach their students the skills that they may be struggling with at home. If not, students could become confused and parents may put too much pressure on the child. Cooper ends the article by saying that the, “the vast majority of educators have got it right” (Walker). This information will impact my

The quality of students’ homework is much more important than the quantity of students homework and data collected during recent studies has proven that homework is not making the grade. “. . . American students are entangled in the middle of international academic rankings: 17th in reading, 23rd in science, and 31st in math according to the most recent results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)” (Murphy-Paul). Students should not be given an excessive amount of homework because the pressure of having to complete excessive amounts of homework every night is quite daunting for most students. Knowing how much homework is the right amount correlates with age and grade. An 8th grade student should not be given a myriad of homework that would keep her awake past midnight completing assignments. In any case, there should be a limit on the amount of homework all teachers give to students because an excessive amount of homework would eventually cause students to become uninterested in school and learning, which could result in poor test scores and low ranks in international academic rankings. In order for students to carry out daily activities throughout the day restfully, teachers must be able to provide homework that does not exceed the appropriate amount of time needed to complete it, which is based on grade level. If teachers are too clueless of a students health due to excessive amounts of homework, many students will develop cases of sleep

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.

I think that kids should get time to work on homework in class . It would help kids understand the assignments if they need help. If kids have after school activities they may not have time to complete their homework. Kids would also get more work completed as they would have a better understanding of the homework.

Imagine if a kid stayed up all night studying for a test while they still have 2 papers of homework from a different class, and they also get home at 5:30 from their practice. They wouldn’t have much time to do things after school and not much time for all the homework.

Other people, who want to get rid of homework, say it’s busywork and it has no educational value. “Many supporters of no-homework policies say kids need more free time to play and relax after a long day in school” (“Do Kids Need Homework?”). “Books like The Case Against Homework (Crown, 2006) and The Homework Myth (Da Capo, 2007) have argued that too much of today's homework is mindless busywork that takes away from family time and does not improve academic performance. Homework's critics argue that kids should instead be reading for enjoyment, exploring and being creative” (“Too Much Homework? Parents, Schools Seek Balance”). “Researcher Cooper says studies show that up until fifth grade, homework should be very limited. Kids in middle school shouldn't be spending more than 90 minutes a night on homework. In high school, the limit is two hours, Cooper says” (Strauss). Finally, “In a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, one in four parents said their child had lost sleep because of homework. A lack of sleep can affect how well kids do in school” (“Do Kids Need

With many parents not being able to help their children complete their homework, it does nothing but add more stress onto their plate. And in turn the child is left with a kind of “overload” feeling.

activities that most homework is founded on are useless when it comes to imparting knowledge