Most people have a love-hate relationship with homework. Students may be assigned homework in order to practice and consolidate what they have learned in class, but it can also feel like a chore. Educators and parents often debate the pros and cons of homework.
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History of homework
While we may never know who originally invented homework, we do know that the term “homework” came to us from ancient Rome times. Pliny the Younger urged his followers to work on their speeches at home. By monks and other academics in the Middle Ages and Enlightenment, memorization exercises were used as homework.
In the 1800s, German students at “People’s Schools” were given tasks to finish outside of class hours. The practice of homework quickly spread throughout Europe and was later imported to America by Horace Mann, who encountered it in Prussia.
In the early 20th century, progressive education theorists attacked homework’s negative impact on students’ physical and mental health, prompting California to forbid homework for youngsters under 15 from 1901 until 1917. Homework was seen in the 1930s as child labor, which was now prohibited, although the major concern was that students needed time for other things like household chores.
In the 1950s, following concerns about keeping up with technological advancements in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, public opinion swung back in favor of homework. In 1986, the American government included homework as a quality-enhancing tool to promote education.
The COVID-19 outbreak, which began in 2020, complicated the very concept of homework for pupils who were learning remotely and many of whom were doing all school work from home. In fall 2021, after students had largely returned to schools, the question remained about how beneficial homework is as a teaching method.
Pros of doing homework
Homework helps students learn.
Homework has been found to improve student performance in terms of higher grades, test scores, and the likelihood of going to college.
Homework assists in the reinforcement of classroom education while also teaching students good study habits.
It is a known fact that students only retain 50% of what their instructors teach in class, and they must apply homework to truly learn it. At-home tasks assist pupils in learning the material covered in class. These tasks can provide useful information for teachers about how students grasp the curriculum.
Homework helps parents to know more about their children’s learning.
Take-home assignments provide parents the ability to keep track of successes and losses of their children at school and their academic limitations and strengths.
Cons of doing homework
Homework may be harmful in excessive quantities.
High school students who studied well said that too many assignments leads to sleep deprivation as well as other health problems like headaches, tiredness, weight loss, and so on.
Homework aggravates the digital divide, which is the obvious gap between students who have access to technology and those who do not.
Students in public schools either lacked a current internet connection or a good device for distance learning, or both.
Homework may make younger students feel hopeless.
When it came to standardized test scores or grades, homework had no impact on achievement increases.
To sum up
On the plus side, homework can help all students improve their learning abilities more thoroughly and retain information for longer periods of time. It can also be used as a form of assessment to gauge a student’s understanding of a particular topic. Additionally, homework can teach responsibility, time management, and other important skills.
However, there are also several potential disadvantages to consider. For instance, some students may feel overwhelmed by too much homework, leading to frustration and even burnout. Additionally, some students may struggle to complete homework assignments due to a lack of time, resources, or motivation. Finally, there is the potential for cheating when students copy answers from classmates or use other sources without giving credit.
As with anything, there are pros and cons to consider when it comes to homework. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to assign homework should be based on what will benefit the students the most.
What do you think? Do the pros of homework outweigh the cons? Or are the cons of homework more significant? Whatever you think, we hope you won’t have problems with your homework!