After decades of assessment and much research, the educationists still argue on the worthiness of homework. The findings do not match each other. And the question remains standing that, does homework help students in their academic growth?
Along with the children, parents also face the trouble of homework assignments. Especially parents with younger children face tantrums from their kids in completing their homework answers.
This drama continues night after night till they develop a sense of responsibility in themselves. Parents go through all this with the hope that maybe, homework assignments are necessary for their child’s progress.
Let us not talk about what parents think of homework. Instead, look at what students take up homework assignments as. Not all students take homework as trouble or for granted. Some see it as a method of learning at home.
But do the homework assignments help the students? Or is it simply busywork?
Homework Haters
The answer to the question, “whether homework helps or hurts?” depends on who answers the question. Sam, a 12-year-old student, says, “Homework does not help in any way. It makes the kids tired and stresses them out, and kids start hating school.”
Stomachache for Common Kids
Here, Sam’s sentiments are worth noting. The irritable field of homework takes away valuable family time, yielding unneeded pressure. Books like The Homework Myth, End of Homework, and Case Against Homework, and the movie Race to Nowhere supports Sam’s statement. It proves that homework is an unproductive way to make kids better thinkers and learners.
In late 2009, a Canadian couple took the academic homework assignment to the Canadian Supreme Court. They got an exemption from homework for their two children. The court found no evidence of improvement in academic performance through homework assignments.
So, is there any actual correlation between homework assignments and academic improvement?
Reports from the Laboratories of Homework
Researchers are performing their homework continuously. They have conducted numerous studies on homework assignments for decades. However, even after so much work, there is no definitive conclusion, and the matter still is the subject of debate.
Harris Cooper is one of the top scholars of the nation. In his meta-study in 2006 at the Psychology and Neuroscience department of Duke University, Cooper said, you can always find some study and research to support your desire, but while doing this, you ignore the counter-evidence.
How Much Homework is Too Much?
Whether it is good or worse, the actual situation is that homework is inclining in the US. In a survey by the University of Michigan, the survey team found astonishing data. They found that in 2002-03, the students between the ages of 6-17 are doing twice the homework, as it was done by the students in 1981-82.
Here, a question arises: what is the right amount of homework, and how can you measure the correct amount? How is the 10-minute per night per grade rule generally accepted?
The above rule is omnipresent. Indeed, 10-minute per grade is the prescribed amount of homework for all 12 grades. You can find this on the website of the National Education Association or the website of the Parent-Teacher Association.
The 10-minute rule came from a teacher who attended Cooper’s workshop. Cooper showed a chart of middle school students doing work for an hour or half an hour, as good as high school students doing work for 2 hours. A teacher at the workshop said it is like a 10-minute rule, and the idea evolved.
A miscommunication between the teacher and student is often the reason behind too much homework. Why is the homework assigned? What problem is the kid facing?
A simple conversation can solve these problems. You should carefully look at your kids while they complete their assignments. Maybe, the extra time your kid takes is due to the frequency of other work while doing the homework.
Lesser Amount of Homework is Often More
It is your responsibility to check that your child is not risking his health. You cannot afford to allow your kid to tarnish his health to complete the homework assignments. Sound sleep is necessary for the development of the brain and body.
You cannot measure the advantages of homework assignments for elementary school students. However, in middle and high school homework, for two hours have some relationship with academic achievement.
Home Assignments are Not Equal
A meta-study conducted by Cooper’s team in 1989 at Duke University found that high school students gain more by completing their homework. The study also found that 69% of high school students outperformed in a test those who were doing their homework. The figures were half in middle school.
After so much study and research, the mystery of homework remains unsolved. We can hope that scholars like Cooper and others will come with some solid practice in upcoming times.
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