I have been putting a lot of thought into whether I would want to
distribute homework in my
classroom. After doing some reading on the topic, I have come to
notice that there are varying opinions from such authors as Harris
Cooper, John Buell, and Etta Kralovec. Taking Sides: Cla****ng Views on
Controversial Educational Issues by James Wm. Noll also discusses this
issue. So far I have found a variety of reasons for why it should be
abolished and why it should not.
~Why it should be abolished:
-It tends to interfere with family time.
-It tires students out after an already long day.
-It is often seen as busy work and does not have children think
critically.
-It has become a factor for why many students drop out of school.
-Parents want to spend time teaching their kids other things such as
how to run a home instead of focusing on things they are already
learning in class.
-How do you judge who is doing the homework.....lots of children's
parents have a huge part in that matter and some parents never even
look at it.
-Economically speaking it can be difficult for some children to
complete assignments if they do not have the resources such as a
computer or supplies.
- It does not necessarily improve achievement for elementary students
since it is often not developmentally appropriate.
-There are many countries, such as Japan, that have higher test scores
and less homework.
-Teachers can't look for the mistakes students are making at home, as
they are made, and some students just get frustrated and write down any
answer just to get it done.
Why it should not be abolished:
-According to Brooking's study, students (even high school students)
don't spend more than an hour a day on homework showing children do not
have it as hard as we make it seem.
-Research shows that homework has helped middle-schoolers go up ten
percentile points and high-schoolers go up nineteen percentile points
in grades and test scores.
-Homework minutes have not increased as much as they appear...in some
cases it's a matter of two min more a day for five days.
-If students are overburdened with work it doesn't mean homework should
be abolished completely. Assignments should just be better thought out
and created to not take hours and hours of students' after school time.
-Teaches time management and responsibility.
I agree that homework can be very beneficial if administered properly,
but I feel that sometimes teachers hand out repetitive worksheets that
do not make children think about what they are actually doing. This
kind of homework is not helping the child in the long run and is taking
up time that he or she could be spending with family, extra-curricular
activities, or just being a kid. This especially refers to elementary
school children K-3. These children already have enough pressure on
them to do well in school. They are in a classroom for 7 hours a day
and I believe that it is unnecessary to provide them with more work
once they get home. I agree that all children do not have the
resources to go home to and receive help with their homework. What are
the children who don't own computers or even markers supposed to do
when a teacher sends them home with projects to complete? Also, it's
really difficult to assign the same homework to a class of diverse
needs. What might take one child 10 min. could take another child 2
hours.
My opinion is that more work should be focused on in the classroom and
less at home. As students get older this may change a little bit but I
feel that if students weren't obligated to always do these homework
assignments, school may appear more enjoyable and students may work
harder knowing that they will be able to do other things that they
enjoy when they get home from school.
Please feel free to offer any opinions on this subject and whether you
believe no students should receive homework or just certain age groups.
Thank you!
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