Homework has comprised part of the education curricular across the globe for decades now. With it comes debate which has divided opinions on whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages or vice versa. It stems from the various forms of homework issued to students ranging from algebraic problems, book reports, to research assignments. In sharp focus is the type and amount of work students get assigned besides sending the entire day in school learning.
During the early periods of the 1900s, education theorists with progressive perspectives decried the negative homework impact on kid’s mental and physical wellbeing. As such, some states like California banned homework for learners under the age of fifteen. However, the public perspective swung back in homework’s favor in the 1950s, especially after the developments in technological advancements in the Soviet Union. Everyone saw the need to keep up with the Soviets, and homework was a critical tool for achieving this.
Homework proponents argue that it enhances student’s academic achievement and also allows for independence when it comes to learning of life skills and classwork. They also attribute homework to increased opportunities for parents to monitor the academic progress and learning of their kids. On the other hand, opponents argue that it is retrogressive. They say that assignments enhance the level of student stress and decrease sleeping and leisure time which ultimately leads to incidences of cheating. So are after-school assignments harmful or beneficial?
Advantages of Homework
- Assignments raise the level of student success. Studies show homework to improve the achievement of students on test results, improved grades, and the likelihood of attending college after high school.
- Research shows that students who undertook thirty-one to ninety minutes of history homework scored forty points higher than their counterparts who didn’t do homework, in SAT-mathematics exams. Further, students in classes who did assignments outperformed 69% of their peers who didn’t do tasks using standardized grades and tests.
- Homework reinforces learning and in developing life skills and good study routines. Practice always makes perfect, and this adage holds for history homework. Students retain 50% of everything they get taught in class, and by applying the information, they get to understand the concepts truly.
- Homework also assists students in developing critical skills that can prove useful throughout life. Such skills include autonomy, accountability, time management, discipline, critical thinking, self-direction, and problem-solving skills, among many others.
- Assignments offer an opportunity for parents to get involved in their kid’s learning process. Assignments help parents to track the academic progress of their kids, especially at home. They get to understand what their kids get taught in school besides knowing their academic weaknesses and strengths.
- Research shows that the involvement of parents in their child’s history homework can improve their performance in class, especially for those kids who are economically disadvantaged. Further, studies show that the interactive assignment process with online history homework help enhances student’s achievements.
- Parents can also learn of the existence of handicaps existent in their kids which can allow them to seek for assistance besides adjusting the strategies employed in their learning to suit these kids.
Disadvantages of Homework
- Homework increases the anxiety and stress levels of kids which can cause tension in the family.
- Assignments also reduce the reactional time students have besides reducing their sleeping time as they have to finish homework within specific time limits. As such this can lead to student cheating
Conclusion
Homework has advantages and disadvantages based on the quality type and amount assigned to students.