A lot of people have strong opinions on homework. It is definitely a touchy subject. Ask a student and chances are they will have negative thoughts and feelings towards the homework load they are given each night. Ask a parent, and you might get some mixed reviews. A lot of the time when children get home from school all they want to do is kick back and relax, or go outside and get some fresh air, or even just want time to spend with their family. But in reality, they have no time to do anything but eat dinner and continue their studies for the day. Teachers these days seem to be giving huge loads of homework and it is really affecting children and their families. Some children are getting so stressed out it is affecting other aspects of their life, and some parents are stating they feel like drill sergeants instead of parents. There needs to be a balance created between how much school work teachers assign and how much free time it will allow them at home. It is important that children get exercise when they go home in the afternoon. Going to the park, shooting some hoops and running around will help them to let out all of the energy they haven't been able to use while sitting in school for six hours. Spending time with families is extremely important, and with big homework demands, children don't get to do that. I know for me, personally, my favorite thing to do was get home from school and spend time with my sister, parents, and dog. It was relaxing and a rewarding thing to do considering both my parents work and have busy schedules. Finding time for important things like these examples is important to do as children. Although schoolwork is important as well, too much can get in the way of life. Upon my research about homework I found a lot of interesting quotes in support of homework and in hatred of homework.
"Many in the education field today are looking for evidence to support the case for homework, but are coming up empty-handed. “Homework is all pain and no gain,” says author Alfie Kohn. In his book The Homework Myth, Kohn points out that no study has ever found a correlation between homework and academic achievement in elementary school, and there is little reason to believe that homework is necessary in high school. In fact, it may even diminish interest in learning, says Kohn."
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/The_Homework_Debate/
I chose to share this quote because I completely support it and agree with it. As a child, the more homework I got, the more unmotivated I was to do it. I never really got anything out of the homework because I spent more energy thinking about getting it done and rushing through it more than I cared about retaining any information that was coming from it. I believe that as a future educator I will find a good balance for my students. I want to give them a little reminder of what they are learning in school to take home, but I strongly believe that family time, exercise, and relaxation at home will help them come to school more willing to learn.
Hi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I am the director of a before/after school program and spend up to five and a half hours with students each day. You're right -- kids do deserve a break. I find that some of my students spend nearly thirty minutes completing homework, but I believe that it's justified. When I complete my homework, I remember more from class.
I think rather than cutting homework, teachers should give out less and have homework be more review oriented. If students had one to two pages for all subjects that simply reinforced key concepts from class, life would be better!
Some teachers even request that students stop completing their homework after thirty minutes. They believe that if the homework they've provided is taking too long, that a student needs to spend more time working with his or her teacher.
Adam
Shannon,
ReplyDeleteIm going to be honest, I think that homework sucks and is complete busy work. I know personally in my elementary school our homework was just repeating the same worksheet at home that we completed earlier in the day!
Shannon.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. College hasn't been as much of a homework load as I expected. But thinking back on high school I remember pulling countless all-nighters. And yes some were because I procrastinated. But most of the time as a student athlete I just didn't have enough hours in my day. Between school, games, practices, and marching band my schedule was always packed.
My little brother just started highschool this past fall, and his work load is so heavy that sometimes he just picks and chooses what homework is a priority, because he just doesn't have time or energy to do all 6 classes allotments of after school work.
As far as a solution....Less is more. I think that most homework is just busy work anyways. If you give less but more significant assignments it will lighten the work load for teachers and students.