Students often loathe homework. Assignments from teachers take up so much time, but many students feel that completing them isn’t worth the value they gain.
Some people believe that homework is unnecessary and a waste of time because teachers are just “busy work” students.
Is homework necessary? Or can we benefit more from just reading the textbook or learning in class? You might be surprised by the outcome!
Why should students have homework?
Communication network
Homework builds a communication network between students, parents and teachers. It gives the students an opportunity to review the subject matter taught in the class. Homework helps prepare students for tests and provides them with more practice on concepts that were introduced in class.
Homework allows the teacher to check if students truly understand what was taught in class. It is not always possible to check if all the students have understood everything during class time. But by assigning a homework assignment, teachers can get a better idea of how well the students understand the subject being taught. Teachers will then be able to teach further lessons based on this information.
Homework creates a bridge between school and home. Homework encourages parents to become involved in their child’s education by teaching them how to monitor assignments, help with projects and encourage studying and test preparation.
Discipline of practice
It is indispensable to increase your skills and understanding. Regular homework will make certain concepts easier to understand.
For some people, homework can be a great way to learn more about their hobbies. For example, if you like art, then doing art homework will help you learn more about your hobby. You might even find that doing art homework makes you want to do more art!
Comfort zone
Homework helps students get out of their comfort zone, try out new things, and find out what they are good at. For example, if your child struggles in social studies but loves to read about history and geography, you can encourage them to read books about those subjects in their spare time. These books can supplement the course material learned in school.
With homework, time management becomes essential. Students learn to plan ahead and make time for what’s important to them. They need to set aside time for extracurricular activities, friends, sports, hobbies, family time — and yes, even some downtime!
The more kids practise managing their time now, the better prepared they’ll be for college and careers later on.
Additional time to learn
We all learn at a different pace, which means the little time spent in the classroom might not be enough for students to understand a subject thoroughly.
Homework provides additional time to learn topics more thoroughly than what is possible during a school day. It also allows students to take their time and focus on complex concepts rather than rushing through them.
Getting extra time to complete a task can be very beneficial for some learners. They might need more time to collect their thoughts and develop an outline before writing an essay, or they might need more time to devise designs for an experiment since one step may influence another stage of the process.
Why homework is bad
Homework encourages a sedentary lifestyle
The obvious question is, should students have homework? Well, that depends on where you stand.
The classroom is critical, but also the playground is as important as well. If children have much homework, they won’t have much playtime, impacting their social development.
Children spend long hours in classrooms, and homework assignments only add to these hours. Their sedentary lifestyles can be dangerous and cause health problems.
Homework isn’t healthy in every home
The best home for a student to do their homework is one that has plenty of room to work in, with a clear view of the rest of the house and good lighting. A home with a large kitchen table or desk, for example, would be ideal for studying.
There are several reasons why students may not be able to find a place in the house that’s suitable for homework. For example, if there are many distractions such as a television, video games, or pets roaming around, it can be hard to concentrate on work.
Parents might find it difficult to supervise children while they’re doing their schoolwork.
Alternatively, they may have other responsibilities such as cooking meals or cleaning up after dinner, making it harder for them to help out with homework.
Many people think that homes are suitable for children to learn, but not all homes provide a healthy environment, and some parents are unable to participate.
Homework adds an already full-time job
School is a full-time job for students, and they spend many hours in class. Students have extracurricular activities like sports and music that are important.
Adding extra hours to all these demands is a lot for the children hence they don’t have time for themselves.
Homework is a controversial topic, and it doesn’t seem like anyone has an agreement on whether or not it is necessary.
It is essential to understand the pros and cons of homework, taking both perspectives to find common ground. In the end, students ought to succeed.