3 reasons why we shouldnt have homework
M any students agree that assigning homework over the holidays really is a form of cruel and unusual punishment. In fact, the San Ramon Valley district modified its homework policy and no homework is allowed over weekends and holiday vacations, except for reading. The US National Education Association recommends no more than ten minutes of homework per grade level, per night. Homework has fallen in and out of favor over the decades.
5 Reasons Why Homework Is Bad For Your Child
Thirty hours? For most children, mandatory homework assignments push their workweek far beyond the school day and deep into what any other laborers would consider overtime. Even without sports or music or other school-sponsored extracurriculars, the daily homework slog keeps many students on the clock as long as lawyers, teachers, medical residents, truck drivers and other overworked adults.
Is it any wonder that,deprived of the labor protections that we provide adults, our kids are suffering an epidemic of disengagement, anxiety and depression?
When my daughters were in middle school, I would urge them into bed before midnight and then find them clandestinely studying under the covers with a flashlight. We cut back on their activities but still found ourselves stuck in a system on overdrive, returning home from hectic days at 6 p. Now, even as a senior with a moderate course load, my son, Zak, has spent many weekends studying, finding little time for the exercise and fresh air essential to his well-being.
The constant demands on my time since 5th grade are just going to continue through graduation, into college, and then into my job.
Like Zak, many people are now questioning the point of putting so much demand on children and teens that they become thinly stretched and overworked. Studies have long shown that there is no academic benefit to high school homework that consumes more than a modest number of hours each week. Our unquestioned acceptance of homework also flies in the face of all we know about human health, brain function and learning. Brain scientists know that rest and exercise are essential to good health and real learning.
Even top adult professionals in specialized fields take care to limit their work to concentrated periods of focus. A landmark study of how humans develop expertise found that elite musicians, scientists and athletes do their most productive work only about four hours per day.
Yet we continue to overwork our children, depriving them of the chance to cultivate health and learn deeply, burdening them with an imbalance of sedentary, academic tasks.
American high school students , in fact, do more homework each week than their peers in the average country in the OECD, a report found. Already, small rebellions are starting. High schools in Ridgewood, N. One Lexington, Mass. Across the Atlantic, students in Spain launched a national strike against excessive assignments in November. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside and get your child to bed early.
It is time that we call loudly for a clear and simple change: a workweek limit for children, counting time on the clock before and after the final bell. Why should schools extend their authority far beyond the boundaries of campus, dictating activities in our homes in the hours that belong to families? An all-out ban on after-school assignments would be optimal. Short of that, we can at least sensibly agree on a cap limiting kids to a hour workweek — and fewer hours for younger children.
Resistance even to this reasonable limit will be rife. He had read the education research and found a forgotten policy on the county books limiting homework to two hours a night, total, including all classes. But immediately, people started balking. If we reduce homework to two hours or less, is my kid really going to be okay?
He decided to limit assignments in his own class to 20 minutes a night the most allowed for a student with six classes to hit the two-hour max. Their test scores remained stable. And they started using their more breathable schedule to do more creative, thoughtful work. Even as we collaboratively press for policy changes at the district or individual school level, all teachers can act now, as individuals, to ease the strain on overworked kids. As parents and students, we can also organize to make homework the exception rather than the rule.
We can insist that every family, teacher and student be allowed to opt out of assignments without penalty to make room for important activities, and we can seek changes that shift practice exercises and assignments into the actual school day. Contact us at editors time. Getty Images. By Vicki Abeles. Related Stories. Get our Health Newsletter.
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The first reason that children should not be given homework is that they need time to relax and take their minds off work. The pressure of having to complete. Well I have three good reasons why schools should not give homework. you come home from school you just sit down and do your homework for hours.
The benefits of homework has been debated by teachers and parents for years as the very word evokes very negative connotations to every involved, students, parents and teachers. Although many people think of homework as doing more harm than good by causing copious amounts of unnecessary stress to everyone, others believe that it has great advantages for children by encouraging them to think more independently outside the classroom. The first benefit of homework is that it allows students and teachers to work more closely together. They can discuss their assignments or any problems that they are having with parts of their textbooks, before or after classes. The second benefit is that it can bring families closer together as students may ask their parents or siblings for help on their homework.
It used to be that students were the only ones complaining about the practice of assigning homework. For years, teachers and parents thought that homework was a necessary tool when educating children.
Homework is a word that most students dread hearing. After hours upon hours of sitting in class , the last thing we want is more schoolwork over our precious weekends.
Is Too Much Homework Bad for Kids’ Health?
Many educators have long criticized homework as a cruel and unusual punishment for kids. There are many amazing books to read on holidays. On holidays, you should allow children to choose books on their own. Instead of forcing them to sit down and do homework, talk to them about the pleasure of reading. Help your kids develop an interest in literature.
Should Students Have Homework?
Should homework be banned? This question bothers many students. According to statistics, teachers assign more assignments than an average student can handle in one night more than 2 hours of work! In this article, we are going to discuss more than 10 reasons why homework should be banned and reasons to leave minimum minutes of homework per day. Do you agree or disagree with the fact homework should be banned? We have a unique offer for students in trouble. HuffingtonPost in its article supports students from the United States and the United Kingdom who believe the amount of homework tasks is not fair. No more than 30 minutes of after-class tasks are recommended. The primary reason most of the student's name when they try to explain why teachers should refuse homework is the boredom accompanied by laziness. However, scientists have proved there are more reasons to abandon after-class tasks.
Thirty hours?
If they are unable to go school each day to acquire the skills they require to be successful in life, then they will be at a disadvantage for their entire lives. Multiple studies have found that most students are getting too much extra assignments, leading to sleep deprivation, unhealthy levels of stress, as well as related health problems. Extra assignments given to children, particularly younger school going children, can lead to unhealthy levels of stress, according to research.
The Pros and Cons of Homework
The question of whether students should have homework is not new. With more and more kids and their parents stating that they have almost no time to live because of homework children get at school, educators start wondering whether giving them homework is really such a good idea. Homework assigned at schools is standing in the way of spending good quality times with family and friends since children have to dedicate hours to various homework assignments every day. They are here for a good and positive cause. Schools want kids to study at home because learning on their own with no teachers or peers distracting them is the best way of learning. Quality education is all about proper organizational skills that help the student sit down and conduct a profound academic research on a subject, prepare for school debates, complete homework assignments that require tackling long reads spent every day, and so much more. To give you a better idea of both sides of a discussion around homework and tons of work children and often their parents deal with at home, we have prepared a list of important arguments supporters of both sides to provide these days. Try to be impartial when reading them to really understand why working at home makes sense, what an incredible opportunity to obtain a proper knowledge and education, other numerous benefits completing such assignments bring. Not all agree that homework after seven hours at school is such a good idea after all. As you see there are two sides to this issue. Seeking professional writing guidance?
Pros and Cons of Homework - Do Students Really Need It?
Research shows that some students regularly receive higher amounts of homework than experts recommend, which may cause stress and negative health effects. For kids in first grade, that means 10 minutes a night, while high school seniors could get two hours of work per night. But the most recent study to examine the issue found that kids in their study who were in early elementary school received about three times the amount of recommended homework. Published in The American Journal of Family Therapy, the study surveyed more than 1, parents in Rhode Island with school-age children. The researchers found that first and second graders received 28 and 29 minutes of homework per night. Kindergarteners received 25 minutes of homework per night, on average.
