No More Homework
I step off the bus and onto my driveway, another long day at school completed. I woke up at six o’clock in the morning, and ever since then it has been go, go, go. Six and a half hours of lectures, note taking, and discussions that make my head want to explode. When I get home from school, I just want to relax. However, the thing that stands between me and relaxation is the worst thing ever invented: Homework. You may be thinking oh, a couple hours of homework won’t hurt you. But it’s more than just a couple hours; the amount of homework kids get nowadays is out of control. Students are getting four or five hours of homework each night. On top of all the other things we have to do after school, this amount of homework is ridiculous. Shouldn’t students be able to have a life outside of school? From what I see, that’s not what the teachers think. The amount of homework they give is affecting the lives of their students, and something needs to be done about it.
Teachers claim that homework is good for students, and that it offers many benefits. Jessica Haley speaks for many teachers in her article What is the Value of Homework when she says, “Assigning homework serves various educational needs. It serves as an intellectual discipline, establishes study habits, eases time constraints on the amount of curricular material that can be covered in class, and supplements and reinforces work done in school. In addition, it fosters student initiative, independence, and responsibility and brings home and school closer together.” Other reasons why teachers claim homework is good for students is because it teaches them schedule planning, research skills, and helps them do better in school. Teachers also believe that homework teaches children valuable life lessons about discipline and responsibility.
These claims are ridiculous. The amount of homework given today is simply counterproductive. Jessica Haley is wrong to think that homework serves as intellectual discipline, establishes study habits or reinforces work done in school. In fact, Homework burns kids out and negatively affects their attitudes toward school and learning. Not to mention, many teachers give students assignments on materials the students have not fully learned. On top of this most of the homework teachers give us busy work, and students do not benefit from it.
Teachers have also said homework teaches children valuable life lessons about discipline and responsibility. Children have enough after school responsibilities as it is, and adding to this list will not teach students discipline. Whether it’s sports, clubs, jobs, or appointments, just about every student has a responsibility they must fulfill after school. These responsibilities teach kids more discipline than any worksheet ever could.
Another thing teachers, and Jessica Haley claim is that homework gives parents the opportunity to get involved with what the students are doing at school. In other words homework brings school and home together. If teachers wanted kids to spend more time with their family, they wouldn’t assign so much homework. When I get home from school I take a small break, then I am locked in my room for just about the rest of the day trying to get my homework done. As my homework load over the years has increased, the time I spend with my family has decreased. I am not alone; homework keeps kids from doing things such as eating with their families. According to a CASA (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse) report, 20 percent of teens that eat with their family fewer than three times a week get C’s or lower on their report cards. While only 9 percent of teens that eat frequently with their family do this poor in school. (Health.org) So, if teachers really wanted students to spend quality time with their parents, and get better grades in school, they wouldn’t assign the amount of homework they do.
Finally, teachers have said that homework helps kid succeed in school. But, many kids don’t understand the homework they’re given, and others are given so much they don’t bother doing it. Jacob Boxer, a student at Joel Barlow High School said, “Sometimes I have so much homework, I simply don’t do it.” For whatever reason, if kids are unable to complete their homework it will negatively affect their grade. In fact, researchers David Baker and Gerald Letendre were scarcely able to conceal their surprise when they published their results last year: “Not only did we fail to find any positive relationships,” but “the overall correlations between national average student achievement and national averages in [amount of homework assigned] are all negative.” This means the more homework kids are given, the worse they do in school. Gerald K. LeTendre, associate professor of education, has studied this topic and has said, "The United States is among the most homework-intensive countries in the world.” (Physorg.com) She has also found that the United States is doing no better on exams then kids in Japan, who receive about the least amount of homework out of any country in the world. Clearly, homework does not help kids get better grades in school, and if anything is causing their grades to lower. On top of all this, homework is depriving kids of necessary sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2006 poll, “80 percent of teens don’t get the recommended amount of sleep. At least 28 percent fall asleep in school and 22 percent fall asleep doing homework.” (Sleepfoundation.org)
I’m not saying that homework should be completely abolished. However, it would be nice if teachers could give us a break and not pile on the homework every night. There are two things I think could be done to ensure students aren’t stacked with tons of homework every night. The first thing that could be done is to have certain classes be allowed to assign homework one night, then other classes the next. Doing homework for three classes every night wouldn’t be too bad. But the way it is right now, doing homework for six classes each night, is ridiculous. Another possible way to ensure students don’t get too much homework, and a standard that many school districts are turning to is the "10-minute rule" created by Duke University psychology professor Harris Cooper. The rule, endorsed by the National PTA and the National Education Association, says kids should get 10 minutes of homework a night per grade. This means that kids in first grade would get 10 minutes of homework; kids in fifth grade would get 50 minutes of homework, and so on throughout all grades 1-12.
Either way, it is clear that schools need to change the amount of homework being given out each night. It is greatly affecting the student’s lives, and that cannot be allowed to continue.
Works Cited
Haley, Jessica. "What Is the Value of Homework." What's For Dinner? - Make Dinner Time Family Time! Web. 30 Apr. 2011. <http://www.whatsfordinner.net/articles/article-What-is-the-Value-of-Homework.html>
"How Much Homework Is Too Much?" Msnbc.com. Associated Press, 14 July 2009. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31910894/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/>.
Khon, Alfie. "The Truth About Homework." AlfieKohn.org. 6 Sept. 2006. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. <http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/homework.htm>.
Klein, Sarah. "8 Reasons to Make Time for Family Dinner Read More: Http://www.foxnews.com/2009/09/22/reasons-make-time-family-dinner#ixzz1L1OBC314." Fncimag.com. 22 Sept. 2002. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://www.foxnews.com/imag/Food/8+Reasons+to+Make+Time+for+Family+Dinner>
"National Sleep Foundation 2006 Sleep in America Poll." Sleepfoundation.org. 2006. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://www.sleepfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Highlights_facts_06.pdf>.
"Too Much Homework Can Be Counterproductive." PhysOrg.com. 31 May 2005. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://www.physorg.com/news4333.html>.
