The Pros and Cons of Homework for Student Success
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The Homework Question: Help or Hindrance?
Homework, is a term often synonymous with stress, anxiety, and frustration among students.
Unfortunately, it is also now often regarded with disdain by many parents.
Is there a purpose to homework?
Can it be done without causing undue stress on the family?
After 7 hours at school, is it even necessary?
There are some true benefits to homework, but there are also some disadvantages.
I will list some of them here.
In the end the question is: does homework really benefit the child?
I think it depends.
What would that child, on a case by case basis, have been doing if they were not doing homework?
What was the purpose of the assigned homework?
Did the child have enough instruction and understanding to do the work independently?
There are many questions that need to be asked to determine if homework is really beneficial.
Here is a quick synopsis of the pros and cons of homework…
Pros to doing homework:
- Students learn time management: if they have to ride the bus home, do household chores, after school activities, interact with family and friends, etc. they need to learn how to manage their time so they can accomplish all of their tasks.
- Parents are involved with the educational process: parents will see exactly what their child is learning in school and how it is being taught, giving the parents the ability to monitor progress, frustrations and curriculum.
- Encourages learning practice: it is said it takes hours to make a new theory a learned practice; homework encourages a better understanding through rote practice.
- Results of homework gives the educator an indication of student comprehension: if homework is used as a tool to better understand a theory or lesson, how the student did on the homework can tell an educator if the class is ready to move onto a new lesson.
- Independence: students learn to work independently; this is an incredibly valuable skill, as they need to problem solve if they have questions.
Cons to homework assignments:
- Homework can cause stress and frustration.
If the entire purpose of homework is to gain a better understanding of a concept through practice, then if the student does not understand in the first place, homework only causes stress and frustration. - If the homework is graded other than pass/fail it also can create pressure and stress.
Homework (other than major projects and papers) is intended to be further practice.
Practice implies the student has not mastered the concept. - It is really boring.
The student has already worked 6 hours in school.
To come home and do rote practice of concepts they learned in school is really boring.
It should not take more than 10 questions/problems etc to confirm they have the concept. - Children should be able to play.
When is the child able to be a child and enjoy their life with activities they want to do and play?
There needs to be a balance and they have spent a lot of time in school (usually sitting) all day. - Many children lack the sleep they need.
The child and parent who tries to do it “all” often finds themselves over scheduled, even with fun activities, and lacking sleep to meet get all of the required work done. - It can disrupt the family dynamic.
Parents are often the “homework police” making sure reluctant children do the work and sometimes have to help them with it.
Parents can feel overwhelmed with this.
What is the point of Homework?
In order to understand what the entire point of homework is or should be, I think you need to start with the end goal of the assignment is.
At its core homework should do one of the following:
- Reinforce learning
- Develop skills
- Allow teachers to track student understanding
- Be a bridge between school and home
Does the homework given, benefit my child?
I think this is a fair question to ask.
By asking the questions, you may discover more important issues going on with your child.
1. Do they understand the concept?
If they do and can complete it with a pre-agreed level of competency, 80%, for example, then they really do not need to do all of the homework assignments attached to that concept.
Ask for a pretest to see if your child grasps concepts easily or is “ahead” in many areas.
*My warning to you is this: your child still needs to learn in class and be doing “something.”
So, if for example, you child pretested out of their spelling words for the week, they do not need to do all of the exercises associated with those words.
However, they need to come up with 5-10 new words they do not know and, if they are capable, use them in sentences to become familiar with them.
2. Is your child having difficulty with the concept?
If your child does not understand long division, all of the homework in the world will not help them, it will just frustrate them.
You need to meet with the teacher and talk about how this will be addressed.
My first “go-to” is that the parent can teach them, however, now schools are using methods for math that parents did not learn when they were younger.
So, when we teach our methods, our kids just get confused!
Ask the teacher to help your child understand the basic concept before giving homework.
3. Flip it.
Many middle or high schools are experimenting with this-send the lesson via youtube or video home as homework.
So, the students learn how to do the new concept at home, this allows the parents to learn how the schools are teaching the concept as well.
Class time is then reserved for practicing the concepts.
The teacher then can help students cement last night’s lesson.
I like this-as long as the lessons are not longer than 20 minutes at home.
4. Round file.
Have you heard of the round file?
It is the trash.
Ask the teacher what they do with the homework assignments.
If the teacher is not going to give your child credit for working after school on problems and giving up time that should have been theirs, but simply “round file” the assignment, how can your child “buy into” the desire to do the homework?
Students should get a pass or fail, they tried to do it or did not.
And they should get actual credit for this towards their grade.
5. Too much is too much.
Your child was at school for over 6 hours.
What could the teachers not teach and do in the time allotted to them?
Granted, it is more difficult for upper grades when they only have 50 minutes or so with your child a day.
However, if they are teaching a lesson that is 20 minutes long, modeling it for 10 minutes, your child would still have 20 minutes to work on that skill in class.
Right?
Work with teachers, see if you can get all of your child’s work for a week ahead of time.
This will allow your child to manage their time wisely and work in their extra curricular activities.
All major projects, should have enough time to be done in smaller chunks, most teachers are pretty good about this.
This may be a conversation you have with your child.
If you have a child who is a “last minute Mike or Mary” meet with the teacher at the beginning of the school year and make sure you know when those assignments are scheduled so you can gently help your child work on those time management skills.
Has homework in your home caused you or your child a lot of anxiety?
I always recommend speaking with your child’s teacher’s first.
If you are at your wit’s end with the school, there are other choices available to you.
Remember you control your children’s education.
I have a lot of information for moms who are wondering if homeschool is a good choice for them.
I know you are busy and probably tired-you can totally do it.
I was a public school teacher, and while I do not believe homeschool is for everyone, in today’s climate, I do believe that it is a great choice for many, if not most.