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Is homework good or bad for student achievement
Homework and its importance
Homework and its importance
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Recommended: Is homework good or bad for student achievement
R. Van Der Linden
Composition 1
Mr. Roos
December 1, 2013
Homework is Harmful
Homework is a very debatable topic. Is homework helpful or harmful? Some say that homework is helpful because it helps teachers know if a student understands the topic that he or she is working on in class. But, does that mean homework is helpful for the student? I say homework is harmful. Students have very busy schedules, and have many late nights throughout a typical school week. On top of the late nights at sports games, they still have homework to do when he or she gets home. Students lose a lot of time with his or her family due to the unending piles of homework. This is just a small factor of why homework is harmful. Some of the bigger reasons are that most students have jobs, and don’t get home until ten at night. I realize that school is more important than having a job in high school, but having a job as a high school student can better prepare someone for his or her future.
Students have never liked to do homework, but it has always been a part of our education system. When more attention is brought to the purpose and effects of homework, a question of its necessity can be argued for various reasons.
The key word in homework is, of course, home meaning that students should study for his or her classes outside of the classroom. This belief is not shared by everyone, students especially. The Washington Post says,
“An education program is, by definition, a societal program. Work should be done at school, rather than at home” (Hollande). At one point in time San Francisco and Los Angeles forced the amount of homework given to be lowered, because homework was seen as unhealthy. Homework was also reduced to be worth only 10% of a studen...
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...ves a purpose. But, if this purpose can be achieved while still in the classroom the negative effects of this practice can eliminate time consumption, irrelevant busy work, and distaste of an old and grueling tradition.
Works Cited
Kohn, Alfie. "The Value of Homework Needs Further Research." Do Students Have Too Much Homework? Ed. Judeen Bartos. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Studies Support Rewards, Homework, and Traditional Teaching. Or Do They?" alfiekohn.org. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Strauss, Valerie. "'Work should be done at School, rather than at Home.'." The Washington PostOct 22 2012. ProQuest. Web. 4 Dec. 2013 .
Blume, Howard. "Homework Change on Hold; Los Angeles Unified Leader Requests More Public Involvement as 10% Rule is Halted." Los Angeles TimesJul 21 2011. ProQuest. Web. 4 Dec. 2013 .
Many people often say that students, teachers, and parents, think homework should be banned, but multiple people disagree. This heated topic has been debated for many years. Some parents and teachers think students have too much. However, some believe their students receive too little. Few schools already have banned homework, but the majority of schools don’t. Some people agree with having ten minutes multiplied by the grade level of the student. As experts continue adding additional facts about homework, it is clear that homework can help students in different ways.
According to Marzano and Pickering (2007) in an article titled the Case for and Against Homework, homework can be useful and very insurmountable when employed effectively. “Three import issues are the appropriate use of homework at various grade levels; the optimum amount of time students should spend on homework; and the most effective forms of parent involvement” (Pg. 76).
There have been so many studies recently that talk about how homework has started to become more burdensome for more students. The United States has gone from teaching to shoving homework in kids’ faces to keep them on the idea that school is always there. Classes have been extended from 45 minutes each day to an hour and a half. This was supposed to allow students work time at the end of classes and get help when needed. Instead, teachers lecture from beginning to end. This gives no time for students to get the help they need when can’t come in any other time. The rationale has changed in America that doing more, always means doing better. This, however, can be the downfall to anything. There can’t be homework assigned just for busy work, that becomes a waste of time. The homework needs to be assigned as a thoughtful way to engage students, so they know what is being
“The typical student, even in high school does not spend more than an hour per day on homework” (Loveless NP). However, there is an ongoing dispute between critics on whether a lot of homework has more negative effects than positive effects, and vice versa. Homework is the greatest tool for student success, whether they realize it or not, homework is the key to success, it may not be to fun, but it has many positive effects. Homework improves academic success, it develops non-school skills, and it helps involve parents.
According to research done by the University of Michigan, elementary school students in 1981 spent forty-four minutes a week on homework. Sixteen years later 9-12 year olds had an increase of almost two more hours a week (Ratnesar 313). A 1983 government report, A Nation at Risk, caught the attention of the American Education System. The article explained the failings of the American school. It explained how education is declining, and teachers need to get tough on their students again. This prompted...
When you think about school one of the first things that pops into people’s mind is homework. Basically if you have asked your parents or your grandparents they would say that they remember the homework load. Now we all know that homework can be beneficial but also can be very unhealthy with all of the stress that it causes. Over the years the homework load has increased because of the fact that schools think that they need to try to keep up with other countries in academics. And will doing all of this homework now be all for nothing later? The homework load has increased these past couple of years and it is causing a lot of stress on kids and overall is not helping their academics in the long run.
Have you ever wanted to just shred up your homework or throw it out the window and have no consequences? Kids are assigned daily homework from the time they start kindergarten at the ripe young age of five. Is it really necessary? Does it even help better learning or even higher test scores? The amount of homework we do wastes time, money, paper, and trees because it’s practically the exact same thing we did in class that day. Homework causes kid’s and teen’s frustration, tiredness, little time for other activities and possibly even a loss of interest in their education. It also keeps everyone up; it has kids and teens staying up until they finish it, the parents trying to help them and the teachers grading it. So, I think that homework is a waste and kids and teens should choose whether they want to do their homework for extra credit and practice or not.
In conclusion, homework is a waste of time. Time that can be better spent is with family and having fun participating in extracurricular activities. Eliminating homework allows students the reward of free time and the invaluable time spent with family. Homework creates unnecessary stress and strain for parents and students alike. Also, homework allows teachers to pawn off their own teaching responsibilities to students and parents with hours of homework. Homework is not beneficial and it should be banned for students Kindergarten thru 8th grade.
These activities, not homework will ensure that our children are happy and competitive in a highly competitive world.” (Bennett and Kalish). Homework may cause more harm to students and children at such an early age rather than having a positive effect. Others claim that homework regulation is a serious matter that should have parents more aware of this issue. If teachers would either regulate the amount of homework they assign, then students would actually be able to enjoy their school years before entering the working
As Boekaerts and Corno pointed out in 2005, although teachers set goals and expectations for homework, students must independently complete homework by practicing self-regulatory and responsibility. Behaviors such as planning, inhibiting distractions, persisting at difficult assignments, organizing the environment, overcoming unwanted emotions, and reflecting on what they have learned are developed in the process of complete an assigned homework. “Children who complete homework outside of school often develop an aptitude for academic work through extra practice and are responsible for regulating their own behavior, making homework a classic form of self-regulated learning” (197). Other researchers such as Zimmerman, Bonner, and Kovach acknowledge that these skills (responsibility and discipline) promote positive behaviors that, in addition to being important for academic pursuits, generalize to other life domains. “Because homework generally requires students to complete tasks with less supervision and under less severe time constraints than is the case in school, home study is said to promote greater self-direction and self-discipline attributes apply to the nonacademic spheres of life as well as the academic” (1). Furthermore, not only does homework instill positive attitudes that would last a life time, it also brings families closer together and strengthens team work amongst them. In Hoover Dempsey’s article titled The Motivational Benefits of Homework, “teachers can use homework to increase parents' appreciation of and involvement in schooling” (2).
Cooper, Robinson and Patall 2006; Corno and Xu 2004; Johnson and Pontius 1989; Warton 2001. (February 5, 2007) “What research says about the value of homework: At a glance “Center for public. Retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Instruction/What-research-says-about-the-value-of-homework-At-a-glance
...supporters say. Homework is also important because there are many types of assignments that cannot be easily completed during the school day, proponents contend. Writing an essay and conducting a science experiment, for example, are both extremely beneficial ways for students to gain a more total understanding of a certain subject, proponents say, but neither assignment is easily completed during classroom hours. Such assignments must be completed at home to be effective, supporters argue. (“Update: Homework”)
Harris Cooper, a researcher on homework from Duke University, claims that too much homework causes stress. In this I paper will talk about the damaging effects homework has on a child, how homework causes students to dropout of school, and some ideas for an alternative to homework.
Homework offers multiple benefits for real life. One benefit of homework is that it helps the student develop essential skills. While homework may seem like a tedious task, it can help a student comprehend the material. Homework is necessary for more than just a grade; it is an assignment that teaches you valuable life skills. According to “Do students have too much homework?”, homework should lead students to be better at taking what they know and applying it to a certain task. Students tend to portray homework as something that they have to get done without knowing the value that lies behind it. Homework enables the student to recall a certain problem and apply it to another distinctive situation. According to “Do students have too much homework?”, applying knowledge is the most important. Learning is definitely important but what students do with the facts that they learned is essential as well. Applying knowledge allows the students to take a simple fact and relate it to a grander scheme of things. Relating what they know will enhance their creativity and let them see behind the lines of how everything connects.
We all know the downfall of homework: the frustration and exhaustion, family conflict, time loss, and decreasing interest in learning. No study has ever demonstrated any academic achievement linked to assigning homework. There is also no support to the fact that homework provides nonacademic benefits at any age. Here are a few examples: building character, promoting self-discipline, or teaching good work habits. All teachers who assign homework want to believe that the gain outweighs the pain. Although, there is no evidence of that and they must rely on faith (“Homework: No Proven Benefits”, pg. 1). Michellea, a mother of a middle school student, says that some work can reinforce certain skills, but hours of homework are unhealthy and unproductive. Mominseattle agrees. She contemplates that such a heavy load can result in potential drawbacks to the students. Hours of homework a night plus a full day of school can be just as much work as an adult at a full-time job. She believes students should enjoy their childhood, as short as it already is. MagnetMom complains about how her daughter’s homework takes away her beneficial sleep. With busy families, like hers, they have many after school activities, so when they get home, they do not have time for too much homework. She says ...