Are children being given too much homework?
With some arguing that an increase in homework causes children to be stressed and anxious, and others arguing that assignments can help children learn more about their subjects, the topic has divided opinion. When it comes to the question of whether children are being given too much homework, the answer could be yes.
Understanding the Numbers
As every school in the country adheres to its own policies and regulations, the amount of homework that a child is assigned will vary. It is also important to note that there are no hard and clear statistics about homework load. However, research has been conducted which delves into some general trends. A major study conducted in 2007 ran a poll for 3rd-12th grade students with over 2000 participants. To get a better understanding on the subject, researchers asked students how much time they spent doing their homework on a weeknight. The results showed that 37% of students in elementary and 50% of students in secondary education reported spending 1 hour or more on their studies.
Cases for Homework
One of the main questions that need to be asked is whether homework is beneficial for students to succeed. Although researchers say that it can, it was shown to be more effective for children in 7th-12th grade as opposed to students in K-6. Many parents and researchers argue that homework is important for children as it helps them to help retain information and work on their time management skills, while also developing responsibility. It has also been proven that children who complete homework tend to perform better in tests than those who do not.
Cases Against Homework
Another viewpoint that needs to be considered is that of those who are against homework. When factoring in the duration of a school day as well as extracurricular activities, many children tend to not get home until early evening. Some would argue that adding in an extra hour or two of homework will cut into time that children could be used for exercise, family time and sleeping as opposed to focusing on their studies. However, if students do not finish or complete their homework, they could potentially fall behind their peers and end up getting into trouble at school. According to a report published in 2015, parents are also said to suffer too. The American Journal of Family Therapy found that as the homework load increased, there was a significant increase in family stress.
What’s Next?
Teachers are beginning to steer away from traditional homework. For example, an elementary school teacher in Texas announced that she would no longer be assigning homework to students with many parents from across the country responding positively to the news. There are also some schools who have made no-homework policies. If you would like to help your child with their homework or need answers, looking online for homework help answers could be beneficial.
If you feel that your child’s homework load is not effective enough, there are a variety of avenues that you can go down such as online learning. Opinions of whether children are being given too much homework is very much divided with changes to the regime being slow but steady.
Boris Dzhingarov graduated UNWE with a major in marketing. He is the founder of ESBO ltd a brand mentioning company. He is also passionate about meditation and healthy living. You can find articles on such topics at his spiritual blog Dzhingarov.com.