Should kids have homework? – A Debate

School hours are already too much, and there is a bundle of homework assigned by the teachers. Nowadays kids, and all of us must have questioned ourselves once in life why homework is necessary. And the debate on whether kids should have homework or not has been going on for years. Some complain about it, and some take the favor. Before moving to the homework statistics and the facts, either good or bad, let me clarify to you the exact meaning of ‘homework .’ It is a task assigned by the teachers, and students have to learn, write or solve it at home after school hours. The task can be the revision of lessons learned during school timings, or it can be the new exercise practice or anything, totally depending on the subject teacher.

Do the kids blame the homework strategy or are they unaware of the self-directing learning method? Indeed the type and amount of homework speaks volumes but does homework work? Why is it a controversial subject for some people if yes or no, and why has it come into question more often? The exciting part about homework is that people who are against or in favor of it cannot deny or accept the facts altogether. So let’s get started to know the answer to ‘should kids have homework’ and its pros and cons.

WHAT TEACHERS THINK ABOUT HOMEWORK

Teachers have a lot to say about the homework and each one has their views, and some professionals want the institutes to set specific rules and policies about the homework. It can vary from subject to subject. Some teachers say that if they do not assign homework, the syllabus will not be completed in a year or covered in school hours. Teachers want their students to remember the lesson, so they assign the classwork to be revised at home. Some teachers think that assigning a task for home makes the parents know about their children’s school learning and other activities. If students are not given any home task to submit another school day, the chances of adopting a sense of responsibility will be minor. Teachers believe that assigning homework and then checking it the other day also helps them improve their teaching method because this way they get to know if students understand the lesson during class. And this is why homework is beneficial.

While the other side of teachers thinks wholly different and have uncompromising reasons to prove their points, that’s a long debate for later. To cut a long story short, such teachers believe that school hours are already too long, and a kid should not be given written or any practice questions or such tasks for home because if any of them fail to complete so, it increases inequality. It is a fact that not every student has the same brain or caliber level to understand things, and the requirement of completing the homework puts enormous pressure on students who are not good in their studies and lack behind. Furthermore, some kids do not have the privilege to take private tuition, and they seek their parent’s help. What if they lack the necessary credentials? It again causes stress and pressure, but this time it’s not only on students but on their parents too. Then the kid having such problems with homework feels blameworthy, and the teachers have to deal with it. So, after considering such facts, the answer to the question ‘does homework help students learn’ is no.

WHAT PARENTS THINK ABOUT HOMEWORK

Some parents note the various advantages of homework assigned by the school, and others emphasize the disadvantages of homework. Parents like to see their kid showing their concern for homework and upgrading in class. They think that helping kids with their homework contributes to academic success and the home tasks work as a key factor. Kids acquire the knowledge of personal work and learning and lead to personal development.

On the other hand, the working parent ratio is high, and they are the ones who emphasize the cons of homework. Working parents claim that when they can’t get the time to help their kids with homework or cannot understand the problem, it exhausts them. And this gave them a feeling that their child’s academic performance and success responsibility is thrown back to them by the school, and they have sadly failed to take that responsibility. And this is unfair as no parent or student deserves to think so. All parents want to help their kids with homework or academic problems, and their viewpoints cannot be neglected.

Of course, finishing homework doesn’t mean one has won the medal, but the unfinished task puts so much pressure on the kid’s shoulders. And some parents say that the amount of unnecessary homework takes the relaxation time of kids and their poor health or routine makes them question why homework is important and things like this.

WHAT STUDENTS THINK ABOUT HOMEWORK

After spending long hours at school and then getting a copious amount of homework has indeed made students frustrated and exhausted to some extent. They should get the homework or not is a controversial thing since forever. Students do not talk about the advantages or disadvantages of homework, nor do they think of home tasks this way. Overall, the grade of a student matters a lot when It comes to checking stats of how students think about homework.

Collectively students like to do homework that ends in a short time to focus on other activities, too; this is what primary school kids think. At the same time, some of the other kids like to finish their assignments or revise the lessons at home. Students have categorized their homework by subjects they like or are good at. Not every student is perfect in all subjects, and when a student fails to finish the home task, it causes physical and emotional stress.

Briefly, junior or primary level students do not like to do homework that lasts more than an hour. Secondary grade students like to do homework only when they have a helping hand, have understood the concepts at school, or are good in self-study, and the one who cannot make it into this list, either challenges the struggle of completing homework or simply avoids doing it and ultimately falls behind. Every student gets sufficiently tired after a long day of school, and they do not like the concept of getting a copious amount of homework. It will be not wrong to say that the students believe in quality over quantity when it comes to homework.

Note that here I have generally summarized a few points of both advantages and disadvantages; otherwise, the list is long enough.

IS HOMEWORK BENEFICIAL? PROS AND CONS

After knowing what parents, students, and teachers think about the homework, the debate is not finished. The controversy of if the homework is beneficial is still there. Everything has its advantages and disadvantages and so does homework too. Similarly, everything has its proponents and opponents. So moving ahead, I will highlight a few pros and cons of the homework from teachers, students, and their parent’s perspectives.

PROS OF HOMEWORK

• Homework encourages self-improvement and the discipline of practice among students.
• Homework is a source of connecting the teacher and its student. As the other day, students can communicate with their teacher and solve their queries while doing homework at home.
• Doing homework freely at home without any class pressure makes the student understand the concepts more clearly, and thus, the chances of availing opportunities are high.
• The choice of assigning home tasks has lessened the burden of teachers. So, instead of teaching the whole chapter or an exercise, they give it as homework.
• After school, students with proper study plans improve their time management, independent thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Students with a healthy home environment or private tutor have the privilege to acquire more knowledge and achieve better grades.
• By helping kids with their homework, parents will get the chance to know their kid’s favorite subjects and their interests.
• Homework will keep the parents notified about their child’s academic performance, which will surely help them plan their educational plan or career.
• Some students do not find the school subject time to grasp the whole concept, so homework gives them more time to read and learn.
• According to parents, the burden of homework and the time spent on completing it has less screen time.
• Daily home tasks prepare the students for big-end exams and surprise quizzes held in their institute.
• After learning on their own, when a student gets praised by the teacher or gets a good grade, it motivates them to achieve more. And this is how their self-confidence grows.
• By doing homework, students learn about their learning style, like how they learn better, and this self-acknowledgement helps them throughout their lives.
• Homework improves the student’s relationship with their class fellows because when they discuss their tasks, they get to know and learn more about the academic tasks and their class-fellows.

CONS OF HOMEWORK

• Homework takes the time that could be invested in physical activities and hobbies.
• The process of checking the homework to know if the students have done that right or wrong puts an unfair burden on the instructors or teachers.
• Not all students have a healthy home environment to focus on their homework which puts unnecessary pressure on their shoulders.
• Some students have nobody to help with their homework or enough financial resources to afford a tutor or an academy. And due to this, they lack in studies.
• Excess of homework often takes away the children’s sports or park time with their friends, which impacts their social development and learning skills.
• Setting unrealistic deadlines makes the students compare their abilities with others, and this causes superior or inferior complexity in their personalities. Teachers should keep in mind that not all students have the same caliber.
• Personal barriers with parents, family, or friends stop the students from asking for help in their homework.
• For some students, homework helps them self-discovery and the time to learn new skills without any mentor.
• Sometimes parents could not help the children find the correct answer, and after finding this out, children do not rely on their parents for later tasks. Thus, homework can be a cause of conflict between parents and children.
• The pressure of doing the task correctly makes the students cheat. To be not scolded on incomplete tasks by teachers, students copy from the internet, books, or others. They think cheating is the only escape.
• Doing homework after school hours squeezes the time, and as a result, students could not get the time to build bonds with others, like family and friends.
• Parents say that too much homework causes stress and anxiety to their kids. And their academic success stops.
• A copious amount of homework on weekends makes the student feel boring, stressed, and tiring.
• Sometimes, most of the class did their homework on time, and the rest of the students get neglected by the teachers.
• Teachers assign the same task to all the students; knowingly, they all differ mentally. And the result increases inequality among students.

WHAT SHOULD BE KEPT IN MIND WHILE ASSIGNING HOMEWORK?

The answer to this question is simple, and that is ‘homework statistics and facts. While assigning homework, teachers should prioritize quality over the amount of tasks. The concept of practice makes perfect for a reason, and this is what the institute management and whole faculty should think.

Teaching staff should make an academic year homework plan which includes; appropriate assignments, revision of only those concepts that will help in the end exams, practicing the class task for better understanding of classwork, practical questions only, research or scenario-based tasks. In other words, students should be assigned some creative tasks, and the other day, each student has to present their viewpoints or the assignment in front of the whole class. It will help them grow in many aspects, and then the answer will be positive when it comes to knowing whether students have homework. Also, all students should be guided by teachers in the same way when they come up with their homework queries.

In other words, while assigning a home task, teachers should keep in mind the importance of an educational reason behind it, how much they are giving, and what should be the average time of completing it.

CONCLUSION

The homework debate might end because of the time limits, but the controversy of kids should have homework will always be there because if it helps the student learning and improves skills or grades, then it also has drawbacks and can have a traumatic effect on the child. And you cannot deny any of its pros or cons because they all are valid and need to be considered. So, we all should simply ignore it instead of getting into this debate because I know it will always be there. So, here we conclude that teachers should think of all the pros and cons while assigning homework. Because if you cannot change the whole system, try improving it!.

Here to sum up the content with a Tom petty quote:

‘I feel sorry for kids these days. They get so much homework. Remember the days when we put a belt around our two books and carried them home? Now they’re dragging a suitcase. They have school all day, then homework from six until eleven. There’s no time left to be creative.’