Homework
Homework is generally defined as assignments given to students to complete outside of normal class time, traditionally at home in the evening. For many young people, homework is an expected part of going to school. But hours of homework a night is not the norm everywhere; some schools ban homework for younger students or enforce a maximum time limit on homework that is assigned. As competitiveness increases in higher education admissions and increased attention is paid to educational standards, both nationally and internationally, the impact of homework on a student’s education is well worth examining.
Perspective One:
Homework has little educational value and is thus a waste of students’ time. Some schools and countries do not give their students much homework, and these students seem to do no worse than students who receive homework, and in some cases they perform better.
Perspective Two:
Homework reinforces what students learn in the classroom and helps students learn how to study independently and manage their time. Homework helps students cover all of the material they are expected to learn when there is limited time in the school day.
Perspective Three:
Homework reduces the amount of time students have to spend on other activities, such as sports, art, community service, exercise, and social interaction, all of which are equally important for a student’s development and well-being.
The benifts of homework have long been debated. For the past few decades, homework has been a staple of a child's everyday life. Many detractors say homework only serves to harm a child by taking away vital time for extraciricullar activies such as socializing and playing sports. Other detractors say that homework is simply a waste of time - homework does not raise grades of those who do it. Despite this, homeowrk is needed in the lives' of children not only to reinforce and build upon concepts already learned, but also to learn precious time management skills required for the rest of the students lives'.
Many say that schools that do not give homework seem to have similar grades and achievements as those that do. This outlook is completely false. At its very best, the survey used to obtain this information is just flawed. The schools may only not assign homework to younger students, all of whom do not have the attention span or the mindset to properly do their homework. Thus, the results of any such survey's results would be skewed, with both groups essentially having no benefits of homework. The statement that stuends without homework do no worse is also false. Without the repitition of homework problems, students do not have the foundation required to learn at a proper pace. With a significantly lower pace due to the lack of homwork it would seem obvious that students would have inflated grades. However this goes against the true objective of education. Without the proper foundation, the students cannot learn. In fact, they are being harmed by the lack of knowledge required by future courses and by employers looking for potential employees.
Other opponents of homework commonly state that homework takes away precious time from already busy students to socialize, play sports, or take part in community service. While this idea does deserve merit, as homework does take time out of every students' day, homework teaches students the important skill of proper time management. Juggling multiple extracurricular activities, the average student says that they have little time to study and do homework. However in reality, they do. Instead of coming home and playing video games or browsing the internet, as many students do, students should instead eat a quick snack and immidietly start on their homework. This approach naturally teaches the student proper time management skills by forcing the student to properly block his/her daily events. Eventually, combined with extracurriculars, assigned homework will not seem to be as time consuming due to proper time management. A prime example of this is Richard Sherman, the star NFL player of the Seattle Seahawks. As a teen Richard Sherman was involved with his school's football team, marching band, as well various jobs to keep his family financially afloat. Richard Sherman, however, was able to both keep a 4.0 GPA and obtain a football scholorship to standford by, in his own words, "efficient and proper time management." The inclusion of homework into students' lives will not disallow them to participate in extracurricular activities, rather it will teach them the proper time management skills required for the rest of their lives.
Homework, in reailty, acts to reinforce the information learned in the classroom and, as covered above, teachs proper time management skills. The most important and simple reason for homework is that it reinforces the ideas taught in school. Studies show that it takes repitition throughout the whole day, not only the short school day, to completely understand an idea or topic. The repitition of homework builds the foundation of mathematics, science, and every other subject essential for competition with the world. Without this foundation, advanced learning is impossible and the student is near guranteed to flounder unde the rigor of worldwide job competition. Homework, also, at its foundation is an independent activity. When completing homework, the student is completely independent of outside influences, creating a mindset of "this is all me." Thus, completing homework completely and efficiently boosts the student's self-esteem by allowing them to think highly of their own mental abilities. This boost in self-esteem and confidence goes a long way in not only raising test scores, but also raising the student's general mental health.