Pros and Cons of Homework

Is homework really important? Is it mandatory? It is a word that sends a shudder down the spine of parents and students. Some people feel that homework is an effective way to practice those concepts which we learned at school. Other claims that homework must be like a meaningful activity that brings the family together.

Table of Contents

Homework-a Way of Learning Without Distraction:

Moreover, to give you a better understanding of both sides of the discussion around work, we have developed a list of important arguments to support. So, let’s practice patience first and be ready to read them all.

Giving homework to students is the best way of learning without taking any help from teachers or their peer fellows. In this way, students will develop a habit of spending many hours doing their school assignments every day.

Is the added stress to do homework placing on students and parents doing more harm than good? Here in this article, we have some key pros and cons of homework to discuss.

Pros of Homework:

Promotes discipline of practice
Parents involved in a child’s life
Reduces screen time
More time to complete the learning process
Can be taken as an extracurricular activity
Allows a comfortable place to study
Teaches students time management skills
Creates a communication network

Reduces Screen Time:

On average, a student usually gets 3-4 hours of screen time per day. While on the other hand, if that student is not in school, it doubles to 7-8 hours of screen time. So, in the start, homework might be unwanted, but it encourages the student daily studying habits.

Parents Involved in a Child’s Life:

Math is complicated for most students to grasp. Even a simple expression becomes a mystery that needs to be solved. But by bringing homework to do, students can engage their learning process with their parents so that everyone gets involved in solving problems related to every subject.

This gives students an advantage in seeking out a vocational carrier.

Can Be Taken as Extracurricular Activity:

Many families are concerned to push their children to spend their free time on extracurricular activities. Students can use 40 hours per week from sports to clubs apart from their school regular activities.

So, homework can also be treated as an activity that fits well into your daily schedule.

More Time to Complete the Learning Process:

In all parts of the world, the student’s study is limited to 1 hour per day, especially for kids. Students find time to understand the core concepts of their material.

Creating specific homework assignments helps to overcome difficulties. This short term practice would be a long term benefit for students in the future.

Creates a Communication Network:

Teachers look into the family lives of their students, and parents see the classroom lives of their children. Homework serves as a bridge of communication between the student, the teacher, and the parent. This allows the teachers to know the needs of their students better.

Moreover, it also helps parents to find out the strengths and weaknesses of their children. We all together need to bring an educational plan that works as an impetus to open new learning paths for students.

Teaches Students Time Management Skills:

Homework is something beyond completing a task. It also forces students to develop in themselves time management skills. Schedules need to be made to ensure the completion of tasks every day.

This creates critical thinking and independent problem-solving skills. Moreover, it also puts parents and children into a position where positive decision-making skills take place.

Cons of Homework:

Not all homes have a suitable environment
Encourages sedentary lifestyle
Promotes cheating on multiple levels
Too much homework assigned to students
The accurate practice may not be possible perfectly
No evidence homework brings improvements
School is already a fulltime job for students

Encourages a Sedentary Lifestyle:

Long home tasks require long periods of sitting. While obesity levels are already at higher records in many communities. So, school homework may reinforce certain skills and encourage knowledge concentration, but it may come at a high price.

Discourages Creative Aspects:

If a student is spending 1 hour daily doing homework, it means that they are not pursuing something important to them. Students, because of their grades, would work more on homework and in this way they lose the opportunity of learning something new.

Only a few homework tasks involve creative skills but not all. This discourages the creative aspects of learning.

Promotes Cheating on Multiple Levels:

Most of the students avoid taking homework to take benefit from cheating. These students figure out answers to their homework from Google instead of working hard on their own. In the case when kids are in the same class, they do cheating and minimize the time investment.

Too Much Homework Assigned:

There is a general agreement that students should not be assigned more than 10 minutes per day for homework. But for higher grades in US homework can be given 20 minutes per day of homework.

Due to excess of homework assigned to students by teachers, the overall time of children going outside for playing has reduced.

Homework-difficult to Enforce:

Some students don’t care much about homework. They can achieve even good grades without doing anything, so they don’t decide to do homework. There is no lack of motivation that inspires some students to work.

There is no denying fact that doing work requires a lot of hard work and effort. But the truth is that some students don’t want to put in that effort.

No Evidence Homework Brings Improvements:

Different surveys are being done, which proves that the only thing that homework does is creates a negative attitude towards school and education in general. Homework does not give you any academic achievement.

It only helps you to struggle with certain subjects or understand the core concepts in science. But on the community level, there is no evidence that homework shows any gained improvements.

Conclusion:

Many parents and teachers follow their learning mechanisms. These are the most cited pros and cons of homework. By discussing these key points, each one can find a clear advantage for their students.

If a student wishes to become successful in the future, then they must be careful to maintain the quality of homework more than its quantity.

Homework-a Way of Learning Without Distraction: