Homework: Article Analysis

One of the most controversial topics in education today is homework. This debate has been going on for decades, as teachers, administrators, and parents disagree on whether homework should be assigned, and if assigned, then what the right amount of homework should be. The time students spend on homework has increased over the years. “High school students get assigned up to 17.5 hours of homework per week, according to a survey of 1,000 teachers” (Bidwell). Recently, more fuel has been added in this debate because younger students in particular are receiving much more homework than before. Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing, states that “The amount of homework that younger kids – ages 6 to 9 – have

and “They have to choose what to wear for the first day of term this

It is evident in almost every high school, students don’t seem to appreciate the piles of homework their teachers’ assign. Students don’t seem to have the time nor the willpower to do homework sometimes, due to their busy schedules or motivation for school. Majority of students, I’ve spoken to have said homework not only wastes time but also takes away from the excitement of learning. Clearly, in most schools, homework isn’t the most popular choice for students. Sometimes teachers assign a couple of pages of homework but then tag along a project and a presentation into the mix, leaving us young adults procrastinating to perfect everything before the due date, usually being the next day. Homework is an unnecessary chore which stresses teenagers out by taking time out of their day, which could be used for more effective manners for preparing for tests and developing their minds.

David Mills’s article published in Healthline, “Is Too Much Homework Bad for Kids’ Health?” is a piece focused upon the extensive amount of time consumed by homework by students of all ages as well as the subsequent health effects that typically result from the issue. With the assistance of multiple studies, Mills argues that current students are highly exceeding the national standard of allotted time for homework and instead recommends several alternatives to the problem, such as primarily focusing upon the assignments that they deem as of appropriate and beneficial quality. Although he specifically asserts that refusing to do the work altogether is one of the best methods to easily relieve the increasing pressure felt by students in vigorous schooling systems, it actually has the opposite effect: by delaying the work until later, students fall into an endless cycle of being

Homework has been an area of discussion for teachers, students, and even psychologists. It’s been a practice which has been used throughout the United States to help students learn material, reinforce their day’s lesson, or just as busy work to improve a student’s work ethic. Several people view homework as useless, or just plainly unhelpful; this view has been demonstrated ever since the early twentieth century, where many authors and politicians were vehemently against homework, going as far as to write whole books and draft legislation (legislation which had passed the Californian government and had been law) against homework. This opposition has ever since faded, but is now seeing a new movement around America, and there are reasons as to why that is. In an article from CNN, they quote a study from another article published by The American Journal of Family Therapy which states that: “students in the early elementary school years are getting significantly more homework than is recommended by education leaders, in some cases nearly three times as much homework as is recommended”, and, as such, students are raised within a state of stress from the first grade. Several other studies also find that homework is very hurtful; the Journal of Experimental Education published an article which had made a study that found that the average amount of time students spend on homework each night had been 3.1 hours from a sample of high-performing schools in California, when the recommended time on homework is, at most, one hour each night. Homework has been mandated work for students all around the country, and several others, and the workload seems to only be increasing, and so, how might this workload affect a student’s ability to live a healthy life, a teacher’s work plan, and a psychologist’s view of an enormous workload on a student?

On average, American high school teachers assign approximately 3.5 hours of homework each week, meaning that teens with multiple classes spend around 17.5 hours a week working on these assignments. In only 13 years, the percentage of teens that claim they spend an hour on homework each day has increased to 45%, from the 39% in 1994 (Bidwell). Parents and students across the country are beginning to spot the flaws in these homework methods, however, claiming that academics are merely being memorized instead of thoroughly taught. Is homework truly helping America’s students? To the majority of high schoolers, the answer is clear: homework is unnecessary for academic development.

Published in 2013 by the Wallace Foundation, “Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Art Programs from Urban Youth and other experts” is an expansive compilation of research into the lack of access, interest, and utilization of meaningful art programs amongst tweens and teens considered to be low income. Broken down into two chapters, the article explores elements such as stigma, parental values, safety concerns, youth opinions, and quality of art programs, as it relates to utilization of school art programs. However, the elements mentioned above are only a handful of the things captured and explored throughout the article. This information was found using various methods of research, but it seems as if focus

Roberto Nevilis, a teacher in Venice, changed history when he created the first use of homework in 1095. Since then, students’ opinions of homework haven’t changed. Roberto Nevilis started homework as a way of punishing his students for not doing their work. Nowadays, homework is assigned to help students receive more practice for what they learned in school that day. Despite the good intentions that homework is supposed to provide, it actually proves more harm than good. In the twenty-first century, the increase of homework negatively affects American teens’ sleep schedules, stress levels, and after school opportunities. Parent involvement in homework can turn into parent interference.

Homework has been at the front of school reform since the early 1900’s. Debates over the benefits of homework include “immediate impact on the retention and understanding of the material it covers” (Cooper, 1989, p.86) and downsides of homework include “satiation, denial of access to leisure time and community activities; parental interference; cheating; and increased differences between high and low achievers” (Cooper, 2006, p.7) have led to a see-saw of support and objection regarding homework. There is support from several studies (Maltese, Tai, Fan, 2012; Cooper, Robinson, Patall, 2006; Falkenberg & Barbetta, 2013) that cite homework as a source of increasing students’ achievement level. None of the

Homework can become more closely monitored to assure that the work being assigned to students is useful and engaging. Parents and students are unhappy with homework assigned as busy work which offers little depth and instead just consumes the student’s time (Melvin). If the High School could keep a closer eye on what teachers are assigning students, this would help to alleviate students who are stuck performing monotonous tasks night after night that do not contribute to their overall educational experience. To elaborate on this, different forms of homework impact certain students differently and good teachers will be able to deliver educational value through different types of work. (Terada). Teachers who always assign only a single type of homework will inevitably be unable to engage their entire class. In order to fully get everyone to become involved and engaged in the work allotted, the school system should make sure that the homework teachers assign to students is constantly

For the most part, education in the United States has revolved around the idea of a “work hard, and succeed” system. Educators strongly push for this idea and are in a way obliged to extend learning by assigning more work, which they are unable to complete in a school setting. In turn, they rely on homework to expand knowledge beyond the classroom. Homework has become what may seem a positive influence on education and test scores in the United States. However, It has also become one the biggest burdens on high school students.This burden fails to reflect today’s advancing technological society. It needs to conform to a more individualized and purposeful approach for students.

According to this article, the term the "Dark Ages" refers to the time period after the fall of Rome and before civilization was reborn. Although the Christian Church existed, it was not a very strong or unifying force. The real power belonged to barbarians, and brute force was used to keep law and a sense of order for the people living during this time. In terms of "government," this article explains that the concept of government during this era was very different from what we think of as government today, with its three branches and elected officials to ensure that citizens are treated fairly and justly. In the Dark Ages, "governing" meant groups of soldiers going out into people's homes to collect money, or "tributes." Then, as now, money was important in government. However, the means of collecting it was much more brutal and much less just.

Homework is given frequently in many of the core classes in order to help students practice and retain the information that is taught. It is typically divided throughout a ‘chapter.’ The concept of homework in itself is excellent, however, there needs to be a clear boundary acquired in how much is too much. Furthermore, students are often given daily homework assignments from at least one class, some of which may not be as extensive as others. Sometimes, students truly comprehend the classroom material beforehand and simply do not need the extra practice, yet are still forced to do it for the ‘grade.’ On the contrary, there are those who feel as if homework should continue to be assigned at the current rate, if not an even greater amount in order to increase the challenge set upon the students. However, this idea presents conflict and many students disapprove on account of already feeling pressured enough with the current portion of work assigned.

In 2016 the average high schooler was doing three or more hours of homework each night. Studies from the National Education Association show that this may have a connection to illnesses and the lack of balance teens have in their lives. But they also show that by learning the valuable lessons of time management and organization, it can lead to a more successful future. This leaves one question: are students receiving too much homework? Within the past three years, the amount of school work students do outside of school has reached its’ peak, but thanks to new modern day technology almost every student has easy access to all of their homework, just within the click of a button. The differences between arguments for more or less schoolwork are striking, and they deserve thorough examination.

Many teachers assign large amounts of homework to students. Unfortunately this causes a lot of stress, loss of time, or decrease in homework quality and effectiveness. Too much homework is not worth the extra effort put out by teachers and students, and teachers should take consideration to the well-being of the students by encouraging them to learn and get the schoolwork done effectively and correctly. Student’s careers and lives often depend on what they learn in school, and what is taught can make a huge impression on their opinions and attitudes, so it is imperative that they are taught in a manner that is effective and understandable. Large amounts of homework are not the most effective ways to teach.