Why do we have homework?

There’s an elementary school in New York that banned homework, so maybe it’s not something we need. Its website explained that the school’s motive for doing so was to “[encourage] students to instead read books and spend more time with their families.” Sounds great, right? To parents, not so much. They expect their children to return home with math worksheets, vocab papers, or the like. While some argue that homework enriches the youth and establishes discipline, others claim that homework reduces the amount of free time people have, which is essential for people’s mental and physical well-being.

Homework allows students to practice and apply what they have learned in class to facilitate retention, but a lot of students complain, saying that most of the assignments are only “busy work.” By that, they mean work that does not serve a purpose other than to occupy students’ time. Clearly that type of homework would not help students advance. However, homework’s original intention was not to waste extra time, but to utilize it.

Pros

Keeping homework in the curriculum for all ages would encourage productivity and keep students focused on the coursework. They may feel accomplished after finishing a particularly arduous task, and their test scores would be positively affected. Homework also fosters a sense of responsibility, since teachers usually collect it or check if the students completed the assignments. Having and finishing those daily assignments can be beneficial to developing a good work ethic later in life, so maintaining a strict homework requirement in schools could provide students with necessary skills in their professional lives.

Cons

Assigned homework can stifle students’ desires to learn. Homework is yet another task, another chore on their to-do lists, and that causes some people to shy away from it. Instead of nurturing responsibility, it could alienate potential learners. That goes along with the fact that some people learn differently; homework shouldn’t be a “one-size-fits-all” scenario. If someone is a visual learner, for instance, assigning a bunch of word problems may only frustrate the student. The same may happen if the reverse were to occur. Finally, homework takes time that most people don’t have to spare. While spending time filling out worksheets can help people develop mentally, more time and effort should be put into families and relaxation time.

Solution?

People always complain about homework while they’re doing it, but there is a correlation between practice time and outcome that people can’t deny. However, is homework serving its purpose? Are schools that require homework producing “smarter” students than those that don’t?

What if we alter homework?

Is that possible? I think so. You could put it to a vote—whether or not the homework should be mandatory, not whether or not it exists. But don’t ask a sea of elementary school students if they’d like to have to do the homework or not. Ask it differently: “Do you guys think this would help you prepare for your test, or do you think it’s busy-work?” I had a professor explain the academic value of every assignment before giving them, and that made me hate the homework significantly less.

Or, make the only “homework” studying, which is vague but may allow students to form their own study habits. You could also change the kinds of assignments that are given. Rather than boring worksheets, have students talk to another teacher about a topic that is being covered in class and get his/her signature to prove they did it.

If homework is more engaging with a clearer purpose, students may learn from it more.