The Negative Effects Of Homework In Elementary Education

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.

Teaching responsibility and proper time management is another valid argument for homework. After all, the ability to budget one’s time plays an essential role in higher education and throughout life. Yet, who is truly doing the time budgeting? Especially in elementary 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?

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 is the idea of extending the school day, by assigning students work to be done at home. There are many different opinions of homework and its effectiveness, overall homework has been proven to have a positive effect on student achievement. John Hattie explores a study done by Cooper in 1989. “Cooper’s results suggest that more task-oriented homework had higher effects than did deep learning and problem solving homework… Homework involving high level conceptual thinking and project based was the least effective (Hattie 235)”. Assigning students’ homework that requires teacher support can have a negative effect on student achievement. Cooper “found that a lot of homework and a lack of monitoring seem to indicate an

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

As students begin to move onto other levels of school starting in elementary, they begin to see an increase in the amount of work they are given. In elementary school, students start to face the problem of excessive amounts of homework, and this is a problem that has been frequently talked in the past. Debates over whether or not students should have homework started back in the 19th century. During this time, most high schools

In a study General Society conducted, 16% of teens viewed themselves as workaholics, 39% said they felt under constant pressure to do more than they can handle and 64% cut back on sleep to do the things they need to do. As these tasks are quite time consuming, students state that homework is the most out of all the unpaid activities they do throughout the day, as 60% complete 2 hours and 20 minutes on average each day (CBC news, 2007). The amount of homework students receive on average daily has greatly increased in the past 15 years, which concerns parents. Homework interferes with students’ lives outside of school, a student’s overall health, and consumes countless hours, which is why it should be limited to a reasonable amount.

School is very taxing on students and their families. A study from The American Journal of Family Therapy showed students have nearly three times too much homework (Wallace 1). Supported by the National Education Association, the standard amount of homework is ten minutes per grade; 1st grade has ten minutes of homework, 5th grade has fifty minutes. Kindergartners are not supposed to be getting 30 minutes of homework, the amount of homework meant for a third grader. Too much homework is unreasonable and unfair. Students are already in school for seven hours, there is no need for extra hours of work at home. Stress affects not only the student, but the parents as well (Pressman 1). Parents feel unable to help their children with an increase in homework. As demands and difficulty increase, parents feel overwhelming stress because of their inability to assist their children. Another study showed 56% of students stated homework was their main stressor; Homework was directly connected to conditions such as ulcers, migraines, weight loss, and sleep deprivation (Enayati 1). Over half of 4,300 students who participated stated they feel there

Homework efficiency and effectiveness has been a long debated topic. Many people view it as important keystone to reinforce learning, while others think it is only busy work that interferes with activities at home. One article gives an example of how homework is debated, “During the first few decades of the 20th century, educators commonly believed that homework helped create disciplined minds . . . by 1940, growing concern that homework interfered with home activities sparked a reaction against the practice of homework . . . and this trend was reversed in the 1950’s when the Soviet’s launched Sputnik lead to concern that education in the United States lacked rigor” (Costley 2). Many studies have been

"I didn’t feel [stressed] until I was in my 30’s. It hurts my feelings that my daughter feels that way at eleven" (Ratnesar 313). This statement describes the intense issue facing the American Education System today. More and more students are spending a lot of out of school time on enormous amounts of homework. The overabundance of homework is putting pressure on the students, along with their parents. Our nation has steadily focused on after school studying to the point of possible exhaustion. In this paper, I will attempt to explain how educators are relying on homework as the major form of education, and how the amounts are too demanding on the students.

When it comes to homework there are many practices that are in play in the world of education in the United States of America. Most likely each school district has their own homework policy that they follow and some might be similar to others but there is no one uniform homework policy in the U.S and to be honest there should not be one. Each school district is unique when it comes to their student population. In this paper I will discuss my opinion on homework through the grade levels, and I will also discuss how different cultural backgrounds might call for different policy.

America’s opinion on the purpose, effectiveness, and proper amount of homework has changed many times since this country was first formed. In the beginning of the 1800s, homework was insignificant and the school year was short because families across the country depended on their children to help them with chores. This changed drastically by the end of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s as technology improved and families moved to cities for work. It was then that philosophers deemed homework a necessary part of a child’s day for him or her to be successful. Not everyone agreed with this idea which then raised the suggestion that homework could have negative effects because students were kept from physical exercise and spending time outdoors. The views of homework shifted again in the early 1900s as the Progressive Education Movement began and learning was seen as a more active process; the supporters of this idea

When the twentieth century began, the mind was viewed as a muscle that could be strengthened through mental exercise. Since this exercise could be done at home, homework was viewed favorably. During the 1940s, the emphasis in education shifted from drills to problem solving. Currently, homework is required by all that leads to academic success. Required. That word seems to scare many and stress all. There is nothing worse than watching a child struggle to accomplish a task that is required for completion. Stress will overcome them, and the depression overwhelms their body, causing them to stop trying. When students are assigned hours worth of homework and projects every night, it would be absurd for anyone to not notice some form of stress. It is difficult to help students who have this problem. They feel as though giving up is all they can do and accept the bad grade. Furthermore, there is a limit on everything; however, homework is breaking through those limits. Homework for elementary school students is higher than ever. Teachers should be teaching children to have a balance of play and school, but it is becoming harder to balance this because of all of this schoolwork. Even for the people participating in sports, it is hard to have that balance of school, work, sports, and family. Learning what benefits a student in school should be a priority; however, this is not being brought to our attention by the teachers. Although teachers believe homework benefits students, it