SIGNIFICANCE+OF+HOMEWORK+ESSAY

The True Value of Homework All through the U.S., as well as parts of Canada and the Philippines, teachers, administrators, parents, and even doctors are striving to answer the immensely controversial question: is homework good, or bad? Many parents and teachers argue that it is becoming a major drawback, stealing kids’ childhood and tearing them from their families, as doctors are also stating that homework doesn’t affect a child’s test scores, and children complain that they are too stressed out by schoolwork, tests, and homework to relax and have fun. Although there are many that argue against it, there are still teachers and even some students that display a desire to keep homework in schools, stating that it helps improve on topics learned in class, and that many students would be unable to learn without home reviews. In this research essay, both viewpoints will be assessed, as well as my own opinion. Through recent studies, homework has been proven as a negative task to students of all ages, for many different reasons. One of the first being simply that it is becoming too tedious, and there is too much of it, as even elementary school kids struggle with of it every night. Children are being restricted from having a childhood, playing, or even getting out to ride a bike. The schools are beginning to realize this, and administrators are beginning to see that “parents want their kids back”. But even as some administrators struggle to keep a healthy balance, others stress that it is “benefitting parents by helping them feel connected to the classroom. Currently, there is a homework revolution underway, in which homework is being limited to about ten minutes per night, per grade, and doctors are noting that “there is a minimal relationship between how much homework kids do and how well they test”. The revolution has spread even so far as Toronto and the Philippines, where the “ten minute guideline”, along with doctors’ theories, have proved to be extremely correct, and successful. From the view-point of many high-school students, however, homework has still shown a similar level of difficulty, and strenuous hours of work, but, as a teacher would see it, their childhood has come and gone, so what do they have to lose?

Although many teachers and authority leaders have begun to join the homework revolution, there are still those that believe homework is a fundamental learning tool. One trencher even went so far as to liberate the act of stealing the students’ childhood, stating “this is so stupid, part of growing up is having a lot of homework every day. You’re supposed to say ‘I can’t come out to play, because I have to stay in and do homework’”, and in saying this, other teachers and principals are siding with her, arguing that they “view homework for children under 11 as primarily benefitting parents, by helping them feel connected to the classroom”. In this, there is some truth, but only if a parents opinion of feeling connected to the classroom is grueling over hours with their kids ridiculous “after-hours” assignments.

As the homework revolution progresses, and districts make rules or restraints, many teachers feel that they have to stick to their old methods, and keep homework around, due to protests from students. Many students argue that, although homework is assigned in quantities too large for the average teenager, or kid to complete without being overcome by stress, there are certain assignments, or work for certain classes, that it is crucial to keep. A teacher’s son, who is in school himself, states “if I didn’t have homework, I don’t think I’d do very well.” This shows that some homework assignments can be proven helpful, as they are a review of work that students learned in class, but there are still many that are viewed as “busy work” or “assignments that don’t do anything but eat up precious evening hours”. In my opinion, most, and in some cases, all of homework that is assigned is useless, grueling, and a waste of time and sanity. High school students are assigned meticulous assignments that they neither understand nor want to. Middle school students are given work that is ridiculous for their age, and mental capacity, as they are still barely coming out of their childhood, and I can see absolutely no reason for homework in elementary school, for any grade. Yes, it can help to learn certain things and memorize or remember material for tests, but in elementary, and even the beginning of middle school, I see no reason for kids to go through hours of stress and sacrifice, for what teachers have been trained to believe is crucial to drill into students’ minds. Yes, I believe that, in high school, it is an important resource to have, but I definitely don’t agree with the amount that we have now, and personally believe that teachers should allow students to decide what is and isn’t worth their time, as they are the ones being robbed of their childhood and free time, by these strenuous assignments.

All in all, both perspectives have been proved correct in several ways, by many different groups of people who are involved in the homework revolution. Although I side with the majority, in saying that almost all homework is unnecessary and unhealthy to students, I must agree that some is necessary, to help the learning process, as well as the brain development of older kids and teens. The sooner teachers start to realize this, and learn to plan accordingly, the better and easier the lives of so many parents, children, and families in America will be. All I can say is that I’m sure everybody is eagerly awaiting the day that the homework revolution finally gets America into its grasp 