Apr 1, 2008
Rant
Recently, the media has been filled with the image of overworked children who have no time to just be children. They say that school is taking over childrens lives. Personally I would be ok with this because there are too many children out there who's parents seem incapable of controlling thier own children, and I applaud any school that could succeed in doing the same thing. But the truth is that children are doing as little homework as they ever have. Kids don't have any more work, their just more bratty than ever. Not to mention that mommy and daddy are now taking little Johnny's side and fighting with the teachers about this meager amount of work when they should be landing a swift stroke to the back of Johnny's head everytime he whines about too much homework. Most schools are so worried about the pleasing children and their parents that they've forgotten what they're job is in the first place. Schools are meant to mold children into properly functioning, educated adults, not facilitate the lazy behavior of students and their parents. NO PAIN, NO GAIN. Students are now as unwilling to bear the pains of education as ever, and schools are too scared to deal with the complaints that a proper education will cause. I've seen jello with more spine than some schools, and it tastes better too.
Mar 30, 2008
Ask the Experts
Experts opinions on homework differ greatly, some swear homework to be the worth its weight in educational gold while other focus on more negative aspects. Seeing as I have collected notes for only one side of this arguement the following quotes may seem a little biased towards homework, but i assure you that there are just as many experts out there who go against it:
Tina Cross, a teacher at Carver High School in Columbus: “Homework is essential [to academic success]. There are some things you just have to practice. Just like with music lessons, you don’t absorb everything the first time you see it or hear it.”
Harris Cooper, a professor of psychological sciences at Duke University, is one of the nation’s leading experts on homework:“If grade level is taken into account, homework’s effect on the achievement of elementary school students could be described as ‘very small’, but on high school students, its effect would be 'large'"
Cooper: “For high school students the effect of homework can be impressive. Indeed, relative to other instructional techniques and the costs involved doing it, homework can produce a substantial positive effect on adolescent’s performance in school (Rauch).”
Janine Benipechat, an assistant professor of education at Harvard University:“The assignment of homework over time, serves to foster the kinds of qualities that are critical to learning – persistence, diligence, and the ability to delay gratification”
Carol Berry, the principal at Nichols Hills Elementary School in Oklahoma:“Parents who value education will make homework a priority”
Tina Cross, a teacher at Carver High School in Columbus: “Homework is essential [to academic success]. There are some things you just have to practice. Just like with music lessons, you don’t absorb everything the first time you see it or hear it.”
Harris Cooper, a professor of psychological sciences at Duke University, is one of the nation’s leading experts on homework:“If grade level is taken into account, homework’s effect on the achievement of elementary school students could be described as ‘very small’, but on high school students, its effect would be 'large'"
Cooper: “For high school students the effect of homework can be impressive. Indeed, relative to other instructional techniques and the costs involved doing it, homework can produce a substantial positive effect on adolescent’s performance in school (Rauch).”
Janine Benipechat, an assistant professor of education at Harvard University:“The assignment of homework over time, serves to foster the kinds of qualities that are critical to learning – persistence, diligence, and the ability to delay gratification”
Carol Berry, the principal at Nichols Hills Elementary School in Oklahoma:“Parents who value education will make homework a priority”
Mar 28, 2008
Top Ten Supporting Facts
-junior high school students who do homework perform 10% better academically than those who do none
-high school students who do homework perform 19% better than those who do none
-Over 80% of parents in a survey reported that homework is a necessity in order for children to build good work habits
-In 2001, 71% of high school and middle school students agreed that the majority of their classmates "did the bare minimum to get by"
-Two-thirds of seventeen year olds do less than one hour of homework a night
-forty percent of seventeen year olds do no homework at all on any given night
-On recent international math and science test, the United States has ranked near the bottom
-The amount of homework for 13yr-olds increased from 17% to 24% from 1984 to 1999
-American students spend about half the time on academic subects as students in Japan, France, and Germany
-Homework is the cheapest and most efficient method of educational reform available
-high school students who do homework perform 19% better than those who do none
-Over 80% of parents in a survey reported that homework is a necessity in order for children to build good work habits
-In 2001, 71% of high school and middle school students agreed that the majority of their classmates "did the bare minimum to get by"
-Two-thirds of seventeen year olds do less than one hour of homework a night
-forty percent of seventeen year olds do no homework at all on any given night
-On recent international math and science test, the United States has ranked near the bottom
-The amount of homework for 13yr-olds increased from 17% to 24% from 1984 to 1999
-American students spend about half the time on academic subects as students in Japan, France, and Germany
-Homework is the cheapest and most efficient method of educational reform available
Mar 27, 2008
Effects on Academics
Common sense dictates that homework helps kids academically. Many subjects require some sort of practice or studying in order to properly learn them. Without homework, students are robbed of this necessary learning time. There are numerous studies out there to prove this. For the most part, these studies show a minimal increase in proformance for elementary school students, but the benefits of homework and study time seem to increase with age. Middle school students appear to benefit much more from homework than elementary student, and high school students benefit even more.
Mar 19, 2008
Effects on student behavior
The general opinion on homework is that it allows students to develop beneficial qualities that will aid them in the future. Such characteristics include time management, improved concentration, study skills, and working independently. These characteristics are especially stressed when arguing for the benefits of homework in younger grades, as the academic benefits of homework are less prominent in these grades. Some argue that the nature of homework actually turns children away from learning because they percieve it as painful and repetitive, while others feel that homework is necessary in order to prepare younger students for the stresses of high school.
Mar 16, 2008
Pros vs. Cons
Both sides of the homework issue offer very valid arguements.
Pro: Homework teaches students study skills, self-discipline, and concentration. It is also true that there are some things that require practice and repitition in order to learn. Homework is associated with higher academic performance, especially as students get older. Advocates say that homework keeps students minds "sharp" over vacations and weekends. The myth that most students are overburdened with homework is untrue. Low standards and skimpy workloads in our nations schools are undoubtedly the cause of low performance on a national level. In fact, the majority of American students have been reported to spend less than one hour a night on homework.
Con: Homework results in high amounts of stress put on students in spite of the fact that it does necessarily correlate to better performance academically. It has actually been shown that overloading students with homework results in lower overall performance. Uneccessary homework puts extra burden on students who are already overwhelmed by their own schedules. Homework overlooks the fact that students need time to rest and to socialize in order to maximize their ability to learn. On top of this, studies have found very little evidence that homework in early grades (k-8) has any effect on academic performance at all. Excessive amounts of homework also puts stress on parents, who help their children to confront this task. International studies have shown that countries with that give larger amounts of homework actually perform poorer on standardized tests. Most importantly, the daunting, repetitive nature of homework often robs a student of his or her desire to learn, doing untold damage.
I think that I am going to argue the pro homework side. Doing this makes me feel like a complete hypocrite, but I feel it will be much easier to argue. Also, by arguing the pro side, I would be arguing about the necessity of homework for students who have relatively little. Seeing as I have quite a lot of homework this stance would not really affect me. Even though there is evidence on the negative effects of homework, it does not seem solid enough to me, and I am not going to waste extra time just to find that there is no more substantial evidence on the topic. Instead I will do less work, and argue that other people should do more work. Gotta love the irony.
Pro: Homework teaches students study skills, self-discipline, and concentration. It is also true that there are some things that require practice and repitition in order to learn. Homework is associated with higher academic performance, especially as students get older. Advocates say that homework keeps students minds "sharp" over vacations and weekends. The myth that most students are overburdened with homework is untrue. Low standards and skimpy workloads in our nations schools are undoubtedly the cause of low performance on a national level. In fact, the majority of American students have been reported to spend less than one hour a night on homework.
Con: Homework results in high amounts of stress put on students in spite of the fact that it does necessarily correlate to better performance academically. It has actually been shown that overloading students with homework results in lower overall performance. Uneccessary homework puts extra burden on students who are already overwhelmed by their own schedules. Homework overlooks the fact that students need time to rest and to socialize in order to maximize their ability to learn. On top of this, studies have found very little evidence that homework in early grades (k-8) has any effect on academic performance at all. Excessive amounts of homework also puts stress on parents, who help their children to confront this task. International studies have shown that countries with that give larger amounts of homework actually perform poorer on standardized tests. Most importantly, the daunting, repetitive nature of homework often robs a student of his or her desire to learn, doing untold damage.
I think that I am going to argue the pro homework side. Doing this makes me feel like a complete hypocrite, but I feel it will be much easier to argue. Also, by arguing the pro side, I would be arguing about the necessity of homework for students who have relatively little. Seeing as I have quite a lot of homework this stance would not really affect me. Even though there is evidence on the negative effects of homework, it does not seem solid enough to me, and I am not going to waste extra time just to find that there is no more substantial evidence on the topic. Instead I will do less work, and argue that other people should do more work. Gotta love the irony.
Mar 13, 2008
Is homework as good for you as they say?
Common sense and modern conventions say that homework has a beneficial effect on students, at least academically, but this is not completely true. Recent evidence suggests that in some situations, homework may not have any beneficial effects at all. Although it has been proven that some homework is related with higher preformance in high school students, these same studies suggest that overloading students with work actually relates to lower perfomance. Many argue that homework gives students the chance to practice those things that they learn in school, as well as teaching them responsibility and how to manage their time. Increasing amounts of homework is resulting in overworked and overstressed students, struggling to incorperate large amounts of homework into their already busy schedules, but these students do not make up as large of a percentage of high schoolers as it might seem. Both sides of the arguement present valid points and arguements, but it seems that modern education continues to favor the pro-homework arguement.
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