Most students hate the word “homework.” They care less about what they are supposed to learn from the tasks and more about how long it is going to take them to complete it. They wonder if it will keep them up late or if they will have to rush to finish it before sports practices or if it will stand between them and hanging out with friends. In the past few years, many countries, school districts, and teachers have been making changes to how they do homework, and through this, most sources are cutting back on the amount of work or eliminating it completely.
When looking at homework, the grade level matters. For students in elementary school, homework does little to help their learning because they do not have the necessary study skills in place. Instead, it kills their curiosity and makes it harder for teachers to instill a love of learning in them (Skenazy, n.d.). At higher levels, homework can be beneficial because it promotes good study skills, teaches time management, and can cement what was taught in lessons that day (Good Schools Guide, n.d.). For any of these benefits, though, the kind of homework given needs to be specific.
If students are behind in school or don’t understand a topic, giving them homework that they have to do alone can be stressful, frustrating, and time consuming. Instead, some researchers recommend
using computer programs that can adapt the work to the student's level, especially in math (Terada, 2018). Teachers must also remember that not all students may have the same amount of time or resources to do homework (Terada, 2018). While these benefits exist because of homework, completely removing homework, or at least drastically limiting it, can have its benefits too.
With the removal of homework, students have more time to explore the world. This exploration time can help them develop social skills and healthy habits of being physically active (Good Schools Guide, n.d.). The time can also be used to do other learning exercises such as budgeting by grocery shopping with parents, understanding the science of cooking by using it, or watching documentaries on various topics (Skenazy, n.d.). Some resources also recommend limiting the amount of time that students must spend on homework because it allows more time for students to do chores, which are proven to help in the professional and developmental settings because it teaches students how to be a part of something instead of always seeking the best outcome for themselves (Skenazy, n.d.).
Cutting homework cold turkey would be a hard concept for most educators to swallow, but the
research indicates that, at the very least, we need to address the way we give homework and how much time we expect out students to spend on homework. Learning doesn’t just happen within school walls, and limiting homework can allow for more time learning by experiencing the world that is theirs to enjoy.
References
Good Schools Guide. (n.d.). Pros and Cons of Homework. Good Schools Guide. Retrieved
October 8, 2021, from
https://www.goodschools.com.au/insights/parental-advice/pros-and-cons-of-homework.
Skenazy, L. (n.d.). Less homework = more learning. Let Grow. Retrieved October 8, 2021, from
https://letgrow.org/less-homework-more-learning/.
Terada, Y. (2018, February 23). What's the Right Amount of Homework? Edutopia. Retrieved
October 8, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/whats-right-amount-homework.