How To

Should Students Have Homework?

People have been
arguing over this subject for a couple of decades, but a unified opinion has
not been formed yet. Some claim that students have too much homework, and the
number of assignments must be reduced. Some disagree, saying that students do
much less of what they are supposed to do. Today, we are going to talk about
the necessity of homework and its impact on young children and high-school
students.

Do students need to
have homework? How exactly homework affects a student’s life and academic
performance?

How Much Homework Do Students Do
These Days?

“Too much.” That is
going to be an answer given by probably every student from every school.
However, we can agree that these feelings can be judgmental and have nothing to
do with the true situation.

The thing is that there are practically no regulations as to how much homework there should be. It all depends on each particular school and how they build up the studying process. The table below provided by the BBC shows us an average amount of homework given to students in some of the countries.


As we can see, Chinese
and Italian students are probably the busiest ones in the world. The Finnish
students are the ones with the smallest amount of homework. It is worth noting
that the Finnish education system is considered to be one of the best and most
effective in the world.

How much homework
should there be? A homework standard is defined by the “10 minutes rule”. This
rule says that the first graders should do 10 minutes of homework per day, and
with each year, another 10 minutes should be added. Hence, the high-school
students shall wind up with about 2 hours of homework per day, although not
every school is following this rule.

What Do the Studies Say?

A research conducted by the Indiana University School of
Education faculty members states that there is little correlation between time
spent on homework and course grades. They also found that homework time affects
the performance of standardized tests positively. The researchers believe that
this is caused by the format of assignments teachers give to students. Such a
format can be quite similar to the format of tests given in class. Some of the
students who spend more time on homework can simply be more prepared for
standardized tests, but that does not mean that their knowledge of the
discipline is good as well.

A professor Harris
Cooper conducted a meta-analysis of homework studies. The results have
shown that there is a correlation between time spent on homework and academic
performance of students. However, he emphasized that this does not necessarily
prove the dependence of student’s academic performance on how much homework
they do. These results could also mean that these students are more disciplined
and more involved in the process of studying, hence the good grades. Additional
studies should be conducted to find out whether this correlation proves
something.

Does Homework Adequately Prepare
Students for Real Life?

That is a question many people ask.
How many times have you or someone you know complained, “Why was I forced to
study math/literature/history? I don’t need it in real life!” Not everything
you learn in school can indeed be of any use in adult life. However, it is
quite important for your intelligence to know the difference between Charles
Dickens and Mark Twain, or to memorize the crucial events in our history.

Nevertheless, the homework should be meaningful, so that the student understands why he does that assignment. There is no point in giving students a bunch of essay assignments; they may as well get Customwritings.com to write them, and they learn nothing. Let there be a smaller amount of homework, but it will be more useful and meaningful for the studying process.


In addition, too much homework may
prevent your child from developing emotional intelligence. Emotional
intelligence includes an ability to understand the emotions of other people, as
well as to communicate with them and to make them understand you. And that is
as important as the knowledge of math or biology. If an A-student has no idea
how to communicate with people and work with them, then his/her chances of
getting a good job offer may decline in the future.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of
Homework

The reason why we cannot provide a
definite answer to the question of the necessity of homework is that it has
both its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of homework:

  • Develops study skills;
  • The student can learn about
    time-management;
  • Develops discipline;
  • It provides an opportunity to
    consolidate the material given in the classroom.

The disadvantages of homework:

  • Does not leave free time for play
    and hobbies;
  • Gives unnecessary stress and pressure;
  • Is not always practical and useful;
  • It does not guarantee a student
    actually learned something.

In conclusion, we can say that the
subject of homework and its necessity is quite complicated. The debates seem to
be never-ending, and there is no definite answer. It all depends on the school
and its teachers. In some places, people understand that students need free
time to do the things they like or simply to goof around. On the other hand,
some people think that the amount of homework should be larger.

It is highly essential to listen to
your child and not to let constant stress caused by homework ruin his/her
attitude towards studying.

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