Homework: Does it Help, or Harm Us?
When a class is almost over and a teacher starts assigning homework, every student's heart drops. When students have an excess of homework, they do not do as well. Even though homework is a good tool to help teachers teach students subjects, teachers should give less homework because too much homework causes mental health issues in students and less homework helps improve test scores.
The first reason teachers should give students less homework is that it takes away their childhood. When a student goes to school for seven hours a day, and then goes home to three hours of homework, they do not get to be a kid. It is suggested that student adopt an eight-eight-eight schedule. This schedule being eight hours of school plus homework, eight hours of play time, and eight hours of sleep a day. With regular school days being seven hours long, the maximum amount of homework that will fit in this eight-eight-eight schedule is one hour ("Too Much Homework Can Cause Stress, Depression and Lower Grades, Studies Suggest").
Another reason students should receive less homework is because too much homework can cause students to have severe stress, anxiety, and depression. “There’s an inherent quality to homework that evokes a certain amount of stress, and that can be good, because it pushes us to learn. But for some children, the anxiety is so pronounced it basically freezes them” (Bailey). Homework does help students learn, but at what cost? If students are always worried over their homework, the positive effects become null and void. Teachers expect too much from their students. The expectation that the student's homework must be perfect causes even more anxiety in the student (Bailey). Homework can also c...
... middle of paper ...
... If teachers would assign less homework, teen depression rates will go down and standardized test scores will go up. Finland has this concept down to a science. Why is America not following in their footsteps?
Works Cited
Bailey, Eileen . "Managing Homework Anxiety." Health Central. N.p., 8 Aug 2012. Web. 8 Dec 2013.
Gamerman, Ellen. "What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?." The Wallstreet Journal. N.p., 29 Feb 2008. Web. 8 Dec 2013.
Kohn, Alfie. "Rethinking Homework." Alfie Kohn. N.p., 1 Jan/Feb 2007. Web. 8 Dec 2013.
Pellissier, Hank. "The Finnish Miracle." Great Schools. N.p.. Web. 8 Dec 2013.
"Too Much Homework Can Cause Stress, Depression and Lower Grades, Studies Suggest." Factual Facts. N.p., 8 January 2013. Web. 8 Dec 2013.
Wolchover, Natalie. "Too Much Homework Can Lower Test Scores, Researchers Say." Huffington Post. N.p., 31 Mar 2012. Web. 8 Dec 2013.
Did you know that the average high school student in today’s society has the same levels of anxiety as a psychiatric patient in the 1950s? According to psychologist Robert Leahy, school these days can get a little tough– especially when most students’ first response to a heavy backpack full of homework is to worry over whether or not it can be done. In the past decade, Leahy and other psychologists have noticed a steady nationwide increase in the amount of stress caused by schoolwork among high school students (Slate Magazine). What does this mean for tomorrow’s leaders and future generations of dignitaries? Scientists have concluded that sleep deprivation, long-term health problems, and declining overall academic achievement are lasting effects of homework-related stress on the average student, and they should not be ignored.
Healthline.com has said that “Students in high achieving neighborhoods who spend too much time on homework have more health problems, stress, and alienation from society.” Being sick of school is one thing, but when school is making you sick because of the homework you have now is bad. Elementary kids having physical problems just from homework can eventually lead to other possible problems down the road. These problems include substance abuse, becoming a high school dropout, and possibly death by suicide. So why risk a student’s life for a few homework
When you think about school one of the first things that pops into people’s mind is homework. Basically if you have asked your parents or your grandparents they would say that they remember the homework load. Now we all know that homework can be beneficial but also can be very unhealthy with all of the stress that it causes. Over the years the homework load has increased because of the fact that schools think that they need to try to keep up with other countries in academics. And will doing all of this homework now be all for nothing later? The homework load has increased these past couple of years and it is causing a lot of stress on kids and overall is not helping their academics in the long run.
Many people often say that students, teachers, and parents, think homework should be banned, but multiple people disagree. This heated topic has been debated for many years. Some parents and teachers think students have too much. However, some believe their students receive too little. Few schools already have banned homework, but the majority of schools don’t. Some people agree with having ten minutes multiplied by the grade level of the student. As experts continue adding additional facts about homework, it is clear that homework can help students in different ways.
A study in 2002 shows that homework causes kids moods to increased anxiety, depression, anger, and other mood disturbances among students. (Coulson)Kids have a seven hour day of school and then on top of that teachers are piling up a minimum of one thirty minutes worth of homework in each class. Kids get stressed out when they realize that they can't do anything fun in the evening which is suppose to be there fre. Homework causes kids to increases in stress and sleep deprivation.In time because they have to stay at home and finish their homework April, a researcher at Stanford University found that too much homework negatively affects kids by increasing stress and sleep deprivation and generally leaving less time for family, friends, and activities. (Graham)Kids don’t get enough sleep and get even more stressed out which causes them to do worse in school.Homework increases family and there conflict.Homework increases family conflict. And the more parents help with children’s homework, the more tension children experience.(Coulson)Homework causes more family conflict which tears families
One of the reasons homework should be banned is because of the unnecessary stress and strain it creates for students. Many students are left pulling their hair out at homework time. Students struggle with homework for different reasons. Some of which are because they do not understand the assigned homework, or they are not being challenged, and quite possibly because they have hit their daily threshold for learning and have no more to give. Furthermore, students who struggle academically will likely require extra assistance to do their homework. Students are therefore tasked with finding a qualified person to assist them with homework. Students are not only under the stress of homework, but now they are under additional stress to find a qualified person that can assist them. Unfortunately, some students may not be able to obtain the help they need with their homework. Consequently and to no fault of their own their grades may be affected inaccurat...
Even though homework helps by having teens do things on there own, getting work done, and helps them learn on their own, homework puts a lot of stress on teens
The fact that homework makes children and teenagers stressed, pressured, and bored is just pointless and wastes time. That is why I’m here to say that homework should be banned for the greater good of many people, such as teachers, parents, and most importantly, the millions of millions of kids being forced to do this horrible task. When a teacher calls out that terrifying word “homework”, moans and groans fill the classroom. Students start to slouch and lie their heads back, as teachers start to feel guilty for what they have done. You might say that homework will help teens and children to drill into the knowledge they’ve learned in school today, and help these kids learn some study habits.
Many parents are also bothered over the force of homework on the connection between their kids and teens.... ... middle of paper ... ... Think about how much homework we’ve done since we were in kindergarten, how many times we’ve stayed up and woke up half-awake, how many times we’ve kept others awake, and how much paper we’ve wasted. If you think that is a lot, think of all of the students around the world doing the same.
Harris Cooper, a researcher on homework from Duke University, claims that too much homework causes stress. In this I paper will talk about the damaging effects homework has on a child, how homework causes students to dropout of school, and some ideas for an alternative to homework.
Although homework may seem like drudgery, the hard work that is put into homework may pay off in the long run. In the article, “Does homework really work for students?” Jacqueline Carey, the mother of seventh grade student Micah Carey, stated that “homework gives [students] a good foundation for when they move on further in school” (Johnson). Not only that but according to Donyall Dickey, principle at Murray Hill Middle School, “if students do not acquire things in class, they will acquire them through homework” (Johnson). As we can see homework helps and prepares us for higher grade levels while in primary school that can possibly prepare us for college. It also helps us to remember the materials that were taught in class. Another reason homework can be beneficial is the fact that it can prepare us for tests and the dreadful pop-quiz that a teacher may randomly give us. This fact was proven, according to a 2006 study by Harris Cooper, director of Duke University’s Program in education, in the article “Homework or Not? That is the (Research) Question”. The studies instituted that “students who had homework performed better on class tests compared to those who did not” (DeNisco). Another compelling thing about homework, are the qualities a skills th...
Dr. Michael Nagel, an associate professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast, says homework has no scientific benefit and that it could even be bad for a student’s brain. “The adult brain does not fully mature until the third decade of life (a person’s thirty’s) and too much stimulation could cause unnecessary stress on a student.” An analysis conducted by Pearson showed that the number of hours spent on homework was between ten and sixty-five hours a week, with females scoring higher on the hours of homework, stres...
Homework offers multiple benefits for real life. One benefit of homework is that it helps the student develop essential skills. While homework may seem like a tedious task, it can help a student comprehend the material. Homework is necessary for more than just a grade; it is an assignment that teaches you valuable life skills. According to “Do students have too much homework?”, homework should lead students to be better at taking what they know and applying it to a certain task. Students tend to portray homework as something that they have to get done without knowing the value that lies behind it. Homework enables the student to recall a certain problem and apply it to another distinctive situation. According to “Do students have too much homework?”, applying knowledge is the most important. Learning is definitely important but what students do with the facts that they learned is essential as well. Applying knowledge allows the students to take a simple fact and relate it to a grander scheme of things. Relating what they know will enhance their creativity and let them see behind the lines of how everything connects.
We all know the downfall of homework: the frustration and exhaustion, family conflict, time loss, and decreasing interest in learning. No study has ever demonstrated any academic achievement linked to assigning homework. There is also no support to the fact that homework provides nonacademic benefits at any age. Here are a few examples: building character, promoting self-discipline, or teaching good work habits. All teachers who assign homework want to believe that the gain outweighs the pain. Although, there is no evidence of that and they must rely on faith (“Homework: No Proven Benefits”, pg. 1). Michellea, a mother of a middle school student, says that some work can reinforce certain skills, but hours of homework are unhealthy and unproductive. Mominseattle agrees. She contemplates that such a heavy load can result in potential drawbacks to the students. Hours of homework a night plus a full day of school can be just as much work as an adult at a full-time job. She believes students should enjoy their childhood, as short as it already is. MagnetMom complains about how her daughter’s homework takes away her beneficial sleep. With busy families, like hers, they have many after school activities, so when they get home, they do not have time for too much homework. She says ...
Students spend hours doing it, teachers spend hours checking it. Homework is sometimes a burden to teachers and students but still it is necessary. Some people doubt homework's effectiveness, but teachers and researchers agree homework is essential. Homework helps students get better grades in school.