Nothing compares to the sigh of relief from students when one’s teacher says, “No homework tonight.” The immediate satisfaction from hearing those simple words is just the beginning of a widely controversial topic. Students are given an obtuse amount of homework that sets limitations on their possibilities to be more than just students. The clear burden homework places on children can be seen through the lack of mental and physical health children are partaking. Several arguments have arisen in recent years debating whether homework is necessary for school-life. Unless the amount of homework given to students directly correlates to their grade and ability, students should not be given any homework to complete outside of school due to the constant burden homework places on the lives of young adults.
No one can deny homework has negative effects on students. In some cases, a lot means better. Although, a lot of homework does not mean a student is going to be better educated. Teachers have a clear job of educating the youth of America, but the way in which they do so is important. In “Should Schools Be Done With Homework” by Edward Graham, the main purpose of the article is to discuss why students, parents, and some teachers are starting to lean toward limiting or banning homework. Often, teachers assign homework out of a sense of obligation (Graham 2). Assigning homework out of obligation holds no educational purpose. If the teacher does not feel the need to assign homework, then homework should not be assigned just because it is part of a teacher’s job criteria. Along with assigning unnecessary homework, comes the obligation to grade such homework. The abundance of work given to students to do outside of school must then be brought back to be graded by the teacher. This work is being given in excess and the teacher has a lot of work to do as well. In the article “5 Reasons Kids Need Homework and 5 Reasons They Don’t”, several teachers give their input on both sides of the argument over homework. As a result of this excessive work, the teacher does not have time to grade every assignment properly because, “...by the time students are getting their papers back, the class has moved on to a new topic,” (“5 Reasons” 3). Returning homework to students after moving on to the next chapter serves no purpose in helping the students understand what they did wrong. It is often said that teachers may give homework to create a healthy learning relationship between the student and the teacher from discussing questions about the homework (“5 Reasons” 2). I have always believed that extra communication between a teacher and a student is important, but all of these discussions can happen about the work done in class. This way the student can ask the teacher questions as he works.
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With the abundance of homework comes the constant pressure in finishing assignments. As a result of this pressure, students turn to cheat in order to simply complete the assignments (“5 Reasons” 3). Cheating does not allow the students to completely grasp the subject the homework is trying to etch into their brains. Therefore, no positive result is being expressed through the overabundance of homework being given.
Homework is better given limited. In the article “Why I Think All Schools Should Abolish Homework” by Vicki Abeles, expresses the idea that additional homework outside of the school day overworks the students and this leads to negative results. Abeles expresses this conclusion by explaining how productive work is better limited (Abeles 3). Abeles is getting at the fact that concentrating can only be done for a limited amount of time. Therefore, productive work is better limited to only a couple of hours or less. Overexertion is a clear issue of too much homework. By the end of a school week, students are exhausted from the countless hours of work they had been assigned. The end of the week is marked by the desire for the weekend and the unwillingness to partake in any more study sessions. In the article “20 Pros and Cons of Homework” by Crystal Ayres, she argues homework has both positive and negative aspects. Ayres makes clear that when tired, students do not absorb as much information (Ayres 7). Assigning extreme amounts of homework exhaust students by Wednesday. Once Friday comes around, there is no desire to finish assignments or continue to shove information into their brains. The standard way of thinking about successfully learning new material has it that “practice makes perfect.” Some teachers believe a student must practice what it takes to be successful (“5 Reasons” 2). At the same time that I believe repeating certain problems helps one learn it better, I also believe that too much work can lead to a lack of focus or ineffective repetition.
Homework has been proven to not be helpful to the learning process. Homework is effective if the student knows how to do the work. In the article “Should kids have homework? The great debate” by Kate Thayer, she argues homework needs to be assigned based on the ability of the student, not in excess. Thayer explains how homework is ineffective if the student does not understand the lesson in-class (Thayer 2). The student will continue to struggle if they do not know how to complete their homework and continue their learning process. Giving homework without thoroughly teaching the student the lesson counteracts the purpose of giving the homework. The strength of the ability of homework to lead to academic achievement is controversial. Thayer tunes in to this controversy by writing, “...studies suggest that the link between assigned homework and academic achievement is drastically overinflated,” (Thayer 3). Thayer displays how we are made to believe homework is such a great tool to increase the academic ability of students, but it is not as influential as it seems. Homework is developing the reputation of being overrated.
The burden homework has on students’ lives leads to a negative attitude toward school. Attending school takes up five days a week and eight hours a day of a student’s life. Waking up and going to school every morning places enough negativity in a student’s life. Adding on an extra five hours to this day with more school work just creates hate toward school and homework. The negative attitude students have creates an unwillingness to do their homework. Ayres writes about this negative attitude by explaining how the effect is the difficulty for teachers to enforce homework (Ayres 5). The lack of passion one has towards school results in no desire to complete their schoolwork. Why would one do something they do not enjoy doing? Homework creates a negative experience of going to school and results in a lack of participation.
Some may argue homework benefits students through developing new skills or increasing knowledge. Homework provides insights on to developing problem-solving skills, time management, strong studying routines, and responsibilities. Working through homework problems allows the student to work through any mistakes they are making and try to figure it out by themselves. Ayres writes about how one of the pros of homework is the development of problem-solving skills. The ability to work through the homework to complete the assignment forces the student to try to learn the material and work through any problems. Graham tells how time-management also evolves from being assigned homework. If a student has several tests on one day, then he must learn to study before the night before in order to successfully pass the test. Managing your time before the due date of the project or assignment allows students to be more organized and helps them succeed. Although, the excess amount of homework students are given limits the amount of time students’ have to manage. They have less time to thoroughly study or put together a speech. Time-management helps the student put together a study routine. Planning how long one must study for a test helps a student manage their time and develop the skill needed for the test. Several teachers believe a strong studying routine comes from giving homework. The student learns what he needs to do in order to pass the test. Whether the student learns the material by making flashcards or taking notes over a subject, homework is supposed to encourage the student to learn for the test. Other homework limits the amount of time students have to study. Thayer argues students develop responsibility from being assigned homework, but do students not learn about responsibility through waking up every morning to go to school and stay there all day? Homework adds to a student’s responsibilities and just creates stress and pressure that is unnecessary in an already stressful teenage life.
Others argue homework is important because it increases the knowledge of students. Obviously, doing extra work is going to shove more information into the heads of children, but is all the extra work worth the repercussions? To express why homework could be important, repetition helps one learn and memorize information. Constantly doing the same problem over and over again will better engrain the information into a student’s head. Although, going to school all day plus the additional hours of homework adds up to a lot of school hours. Abeles backs this up by expressing how going to school is already a full-time job before the unwanted addition of homework (Abeles 4). School and hours of homework take up the lives of young adults which blocks them from pursuing anything except for school. Some even argue students work as long as lawyers or doctors (“5 Reasons” 1). The extensive study lawyers and doctors partake should not be compared to the life of a high school student. Students should not be worked as much as someone who is paid to save lives. Homework is not important enough to exhaust or overwork students every day.
Although, this repetition work can be done in class and not through hours of more-than-enough worksheets. Some students may feel more comfortable at home. Their home is a safe, criticism-free environment. Ayres explains how students may be encouraged to learn extra information in a comfy environment, such as their home. I have always felt comfortable learning at home where I cannot be ridiculed for messing up, but students need to be interacting and learning during the school day to create relationships among their peers and have social interactions to prepare them for the future when they will not be living with their parents anymore.
Students doing homework outside of school allows for more time to thoroughly cover lessons in class. Graham writes that teachers do not have enough time to cover lessons in class over the course of the year, so homework provides a way to get more work done out of class to have more time in class. Although, are boatloads of homework necessary to have more time in class? Homework can be used to determine what needs to be understood for unit or chapter tests. The material covered in homework should be what students should be expected to understand on tests. Teachers use homework to prepare students for big tests to understand what is expected of them (“5 Reasons” 3). Learning the material covered on homework assignments allows the teacher to express what is going to be on the test. Communication between teachers and students should be clear during class over what is or what is not going to be on tests. Students should not have to rely on just their homework assignments to understand the materials on tests. Teachers must pull their weight along with the homework.
Homework has negative effects on students’ lives outside of school. The hours of homework students partake in takes away from time to spend with their families. Some teachers understand that homework takes away from family time, which can mess-up a family unit (“5 Reasons” 3). Strong family units are rare these days, so homework disrupting that bond seems unnecessary. More parents are divorced and there are several single parents raising children alone. Time should be spent with family instead of doing extra school work.
In public schools, students range from wealthy to nearly homeless. Some of these students have a backpack they use for school and others cannot afford one. Teachers asking students to undergo homework assignments who do not have the proper resources is unfair. Graham explains this by writing about how some students lack at-home resources to help them with their homework. Some students cannot afford a computer to type an essay or to use websites, such as Kahn Academy, to study for tests. Therefore, homework needs to be assigned based on the student completing the assignment.
Students spend hours of their time outside of school doing homework. They do not have time to just be kids and go outside to hang out with their friends or have a social life. If kids feel more inclined to stay inside and do homework alone instead of going out to the park to play a pick-up game of basketball, then they are not being kids. Homework takes away from the positive social development kids develop from being young and having fun without the stress of completing their homework correctly. Some may argue physical education class allows students to avoid a sedentary lifestyle and interact with their peers, but playing basketball for less than an hour each day is not going to keep kids active and interacting.
Due to the unnecessary weight homework places on children’s shoulders, students should not be required to complete extra assignments outside of the classroom unless the homework directly correlates to the student’s ability and situation. Excessive amounts of work that do not obviously benefit the student does not deserve to take up hours of his life. Homework only hassles teachers and students in an already stressful world in which we live.
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