Do you remember envying your parents for them having no homework? Have you ever thought about why homework felt like punishment? Have you ever imagined your school life without it?
What if we told you that some experts claim that homework is not that critical for academic success? At the same time, others argue that it is a significant part of the studying process.
In this article, we have gathered arguments that support both points of view.
So, should students have homework? Let’s find out together.
We will start with the benefits that homework brings to students.
Pros of Homework
1. It Disciplines Students and Boosts Their Learning Skills
With the help of performing the after-class assignments, students learn some critical skills. For instance, they learn to manage their time, motivate themselves into studying, and take responsibility for their work.
With the help of homework, students also train their problem-solving skills and independent thinking.
Homework also boosts research skills, as students get to search for interesting information in their field of studies.
Also, research skills can help optimize time spent on home assignments. For instance, there are essay writing services that allow learners to delegate their writing tasks to professional essay writers. With the help of this service, you can get a plagiarism-free paper for a reasonable price.
2. It Consolidates Classroom Knowledge
The amount of information students need to process can be really overwhelming. As a result, there is not enough time to both present all the material and assess how well students understood it. So, homework becomes a tool for teachers to evaluate the learners’ knowledge. Thus, teachers can analyze what knowledge gaps their students have and then customize the following lessons according to these gaps.
Students, at the same time, get the opportunity to dive into the topic deeper and see for themselves what they do and do not understand.
3. It Boosts Practice
Practice makes perfect, right? So, to really master a particular topic, students should repeat the same information a couple of times. With the help of homework, students can understand their weak spots and look for information to fill them in.
4. It Triggers Communication
Homework creates a link between students, teachers, and an educational institution. When learners struggle with a particular topic, they come to a teacher and ask for clarification. The institution, in turn, is in charge of hiring professionals that are always willing to help their students.
As a result, homework helps establish connections between all the people involved in the learning process.
5. It Gives More Learning Time
Homework provides more time for the learning process. School hours are not always enough to deeply understand core concepts. Homework, in turn, can counter the negative effects of time shortages.
Now, let’s continue with some cons of homework for students.
Cons of Homework
1. It Causes Needless Stress
When students struggle to keep up with the ever-growing workload, homework makes things even worse. It can cause anxiety, stress, lack of motivation, procrastination, and even sleep deprivation.
The research conducted at Stanford University in 2013 found that students who spend too much time doing their home assignments suffer from more stress, experience physical health problems, as well as a lack of balance in their lives, and alienation from society. That study also points out that more than two hours of homework per night is counterproductive.
Some experts claim that each grade equals ten additional minutes required for home assignments. That means that the first-grade students should have no more than ten minutes of homework. That is typically not the case today.
2. It Takes Away Leisure Time
Free time teaches students valuable skills that can’t be learned by sitting at a desk. Students need to socialize, have time for their hobbies, etc.
What’s more, healthy levels of physical activity can be impeded by time spent completing homework. And physical activity is critical for cognitive functions.
3. It Is Not Always Effective
Many studies were aimed to analyze how homework benefits academic performance. For instance, this research has found that homework in primary school has an effect of around zero. Primary school students usually complete separate and unrelated tasks instead of reinforcing learned knowledge.
This study proves explicitly that home tasks become effective only at the point when students perform tasks to revise taught information. Nevertheless, primary students also have homework.
4. It Takes Too Much Time
Usually, students spend over six hours each day in class, let alone extracurricular activities such as sports, that are just as critical as their traditional courses. Extra hours required to meet these demands prevent students from having spare time for themselves. In fact, homework discourages self-discovery.
5. It Has Not Been Proven to Provide Results
The positive effects of homework have not been proven enough. On the other hand, many studies show that home assignments create a negative attitude towards learning.
For instance, the author of this article claims that homework does not make the students smarter or perform better academically.
Yes, students can get decent grades without homework. Extra hours do not necessarily mean better grades.
Wrapping Up
Both advantages and disadvantages of homework are valid. So, the question of “should students have homework” is yet to be answered. The answer, however, will most probably differ depending on whom you ask.
Teachers often are fond of it, while students are left in the middle without much say.
It is critical to understand all the pros and cons of homework, taking both perspectives into consideration to find common ground. At the end of the day, everyone involved is interested in the success of the student.
