Homework: Harmful Or Effective?

As a whole, students are extremely aware of homework and its seemingly catastrophic effects on maintaining a social life. Any amount of homework, small or large, will take some amount of time; as kids, not many students want to take the time to do the homework at a minimal level, let alone to use it as a tool to practice and learn. This mindset appears to defeat the purpose of homework on all levels; if students are only doing it in order to get it over with and get a grade, is homework really beneficial or rather a waste of time for both the teacher who has to grade it and the student who is doing it? The challenge is to change the mindset of the students, to alter the perception of homework. I will argue that homework is beneficial to both …show more content…
When given homework the main goal of a student is to get it done as quickly as possible and then move on to tasks that they deem more enjoyable. By working through homework quickly, the material is no longer serving its purpose. The students are not doing their best work because rather than focusing on doing well on the assignment and fully comprehending it, they are only trying to complete it. This creates a more negative outlook on homework; just because a student completes their homework does not mean that that understood it or learned anything from it. For this reason, homework is becoming less effective. Homework becomes another assignment for the teacher to grade and time consuming “busy work” for students. When students perceive homework as busy work that they are required to get done, they are no longer learning from it. For homework to be effective this must change. The attitude of society towards homework creates a negative stigma that makes homework less effective. People perceive homework as monotonous and unnecessary because of their dislike in taking the time to complete it. Negative attitudes toward homework, rather than highlighting why the homework is important, means that it is less likely that the students will learn from it. The stress on students that homework helps to create is also a criticism of giving students these …show more content…
The practical effects are also demonstrated, as teachers do need to take the time in class for students to cover large chunks of the material. At the age of these students, providing responsibility and incentive to do well in school will be important for the rest of their lives as homework will be assigned in college and essentially one will have homework for their career as well. Teaching students now to engage in their homework and see a purpose in it will enhance learning and quicken the pace of school, so that less time is spent in class re-teaching what was previously assigned. As with anything in life, practice is the only way to get better at something and this is why homework is an important tool in schools. It provides time to practice important material outside of school so that when one comes back the following day, they have improved. Although some say that the pressure from multiple classes each with their own load of homework also creates stress for students, and makes it harder for them to balance their time, homework is not meant to take copious amounts of time. The amount of homework being given by a particular school or teacher then becomes the problem, which must be resolved within the schools. The stigma around the idea of homework and the type of homework that is