Cooper defines homework as "task assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hour."(Cooper 2015) However, is it effective enough to justify its extension of the six hours of school students experience each weekday? As Bennett explains in “Must Won’t Do It!”, “Much attention is placed on helping students develop as complex and creative thinkers, yet many classrooms continue to use learning structures without examining their effectiveness. This is often the case with homework. Research findings on the effectiveness of homework are mixed, and few studies have examined students’ and educators’ perspectives on the benefits of homework as a learning structure” (Bennet). Our current structure of homework may be achieving the opposite of what it needs to do.
More than any other aspect of education, homework has been the cause of more friction between schools and home and becomes the prime battlefield when schools, families, and communities view one another as adversaries. Recent homework debates in this country have centered on questions of how much homework at which grades produce what kinds of learning gains. A recent analysis of homework research by the Center for Public Education (2007) found that homework at the elementary level is counterproductive, while homework in middle and high school shows some correlation with small increases in test scores. But those findings do not hold across the board. Homework may have
Homework over the last few decades has increased dramatically, and people are trying to question if it is necessary
How does homework affect students in academic and nonacademic ways? Both educators and students ask this infamous question throughout the course of their education tracks. Teachers and administrators often believe that homework is necessary; whereas, students often question the legitimacy of homework. However, due to new studies and research about homework, it has been proven to be insignificant, oppressive and pernicious to the student's wellness and success.
Homework is often seen as a useful study tool, however it can cause more problems than solve them.
Homework is a very vital aspect of our education system that has been used for centuries. Homework is, “work or study done in preparation for a certain event or situation” (Webster). There is no better way to teach a student discipline, studiousness and diligence than through assigning homework. Homework was first assigned by an Italian schoolteacher by the name of Roberto Nevilis in the year 1095. Formal education was making its first appearance in the world at this time and it was essential to the well being of the students to learn and study the curriculum being taught. In modern day formal education, homework is used by teachers all across the
This article interviews Dr. Harrison Cooper, author and professor at Duke, about the current homework controversy. Media, along with many other outlets, discuss the homework controversy: is it unecessary or valuable practice? Cooper says that people's’ views on homework has changed very little and it has proven to be somewhat of a cycle. For example, throughout the 20th century people’s views have continued to flip back and forth for various reasons. Some of the reasons listed in the article is that homework puts too much stress on the child, they need to practice and exercise their brain, and needing to keep up with the Japanese (Walker). However, the actual amount of homework that students get has changed very little. For example, elementary
Homework has been an area of discussion for teachers, students, and even psychologists. It’s been a practice which has been used throughout the United States to help students learn material, reinforce their day’s lesson, or just as busy work to improve a student’s work ethic. Several people view homework as useless, or just plainly unhelpful; this view has been demonstrated ever since the early twentieth century, where many authors and politicians were vehemently against homework, going as far as to write whole books and draft legislation (legislation which had passed the Californian government and had been law) against homework. This opposition has ever since faded, but is now seeing a new movement around America, and there are reasons as to why that is. In an article from CNN, they quote a study from another article published by The American Journal of Family Therapy which states that: “students in the early elementary school years are getting significantly more homework than is recommended by education leaders, in some cases nearly three times as much homework as is recommended”, and, as such, students are raised within a state of stress from the first grade. Several other studies also find that homework is very hurtful; the Journal of Experimental Education published an article which had made a study that found that the average amount of time students spend on homework each night had been 3.1 hours from a sample of high-performing schools in California, when the recommended time on homework is, at most, one hour each night. Homework has been mandated work for students all around the country, and several others, and the workload seems to only be increasing, and so, how might this workload affect a student’s ability to live a healthy life, a teacher’s work plan, and a psychologist’s view of an enormous workload on a student?
Homework has been present in schools for decades; it’s been ingrained into our culture and lifestyle. In recent years, however, many have begun to take notice of the negative effects and unnecessary stress it’s putting on America’s students. The effectiveness and benefits of after-school work have not been questioned until now, when studies and polls have begun to show just how damaging it is. Will American schools ever make a change in homework culture, or will grades continue to
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.
For the most part, education in the United States has revolved around the idea of a “work hard, and succeed” system. Educators strongly push for this idea and are in a way obliged to extend learning by assigning more work, which they are unable to complete in a school setting. In turn, they rely on homework to expand knowledge beyond the classroom. Homework has become what may seem a positive influence on education and test scores in the United States. However, It has also become one the biggest burdens on high school students.This burden fails to reflect today’s advancing technological society. It needs to conform to a more individualized and purposeful approach for students.
It is a well known fact that students of various ages and schools are assigned homework, although the motive for giving said homework may vary depending on the teacher. However, the debate about whether homework is helping or hindering education is at a stalemate. Stated simply, homework is work assigned by teachers that students should complete at home or any other non-school setting. Just how effective is homework in the long run? Is it just adding unnecessary stress to students without truly adding enough positivity to make the homework worth it? Although homework can seem burdensome, it undoubtedly solidifies concepts learned in class and aids in the development of timeless skills such as time management and accountability.
In “The Trouble with Homework” by Annie Murphy Paul for The New York Times, she says that “The quantity of students’ homework is a lot less important than its quality.”-Murphy Paul. The article reveals students in this decade have more homework ever before because most of it is busy work. It can be concluded homework done just to get credit is pointless.
Homework has been a part of education for various centuries for the major part of the world. Initially, homework in America served to engage students with education and provide additional practice for material covered during class in order to encourage leaders during post-war years (“Homework: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Paid Labor at Home”). However, the effectiveness of homework upon academic performance has been gradually questioned over recent years. With many downsides to homework, many have begun to question whether homework is worth it at all.
There is a general consensus in educational literature today that homework does have a positive effect on learning, through extending the time available for learning. Teachers are clearly convinced
Educators in America have been assigning homework as a mandatory part of students' education for years. In the early 1900's, the Ladies Home Journal movement claimed homework was detrimental to students' health, and since then homework has been highly debated as to whether homework is beneficial for students' education. There have been different homework movements and stances throughout the last century. In the 1900s there was a movement in America that advocated for the termination of homework. In the 1940s-1960's, debates shifted from abolishing homework, to reforming homework to better suit the individual student. Then, most recently, the launch of Sputnik boosted the pro-homework movement (SFGATE). Teachers, parents and students across
According to Dennis Pope, a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, “Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good” (Clifton 2014.) Homework is intended to be a measure taken to instill responsibility and provide growth through practice. However, until an individual obtains the logic necessary to perceive the homework as it is intended, it is impractical to assign such measures. This is the case for kindergarten students.