Cooper also found that some research showed that homework caused physical and emotional stress, and created negative attitudes about learning.

Pros and cons of school assignments: Should kids have homework?

Should kids have homework?

We are debating many contentious issues concerning education such as the use of computers , school uniforms , and homeschooling . Now we turn our attention to another longstanding debate: Should students have homework? Homework is a widespread practice in both public and private schoools . If we were to conduct a poll among children anywhere in the world on whether keeping or eliminating homework , an overwhelming majority of them would probably vote to abolish it. For kids, these assignments reduce playing time and can be a source of stress. But education has to be decided by adults, that’s why we analize here the pros and cons of doing homework as a form of supplementary education.

Pros and cons of homework

Some researchers have identified a strong correlation between homework and academic success. Harris Cooper, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, led a meta-analysis in 2006, "Does homework improve academic achievement?," which showed that homework can improve students’ scores on class tests. The study demonstrated that accross different topics, including Math, English, American History, and Social studies, student who had done homework performed better than their classmates who had not.

In addition to improving grades and results in standardized tests, there are many other pros to homework such as:

• Homework provides parents with the opportunity to participate in their children’s education.
• Possibility for kids to further explore a subject at their own pace. Not all children have the same capacity to assimilate all the information covered in class.
• School assignments can help develop a sense of responsibility and time management.
• It facilitates rote learning.
• It reduces the time kids spend watching TV as well as playing video games and with their cell phones.
• Homework is an opportunity to practice some research and study skills and deepen understanding of some concepts which cannot be fully developed in class.

However, some voices have started to point out some disadvantages of doing homework and questioned the traditional education model in place. Some of them claim that homework should be abolished. The publication “The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning” by Kralovec and Buell (2000) has brought into the discussion a very interesting new angle. Kralovec and Buell argue that homework contributes to a competitive culture that overvalues work to the detriment of personal and family well-being. Moreover, there are several other problems associated to homework, such as:

• Homework is very unfair because economically disadvantaged students can’t study at home with the same conditions and support as the wealthier children.
• Too many school assignments can excessively reduce the time for playing, doing sports or simply interacting socially with friends and family. Homework can also interfere with kids’ household chores.
• Cheating is easy. Often students simply plagiarize their assignments from others or from the Internet and therefore the learning objectives of homework are not fulfilled. In occasions parents or older relatives do children’s coursework.
• Sometimes homework is not well designed and do not really contribute to learning. In other cases homework is not marked shortly after being submitted and, therefore, feedback does not reach students as soon as it should. Students may get frustrated and lose interest.
• It may keep students up late at night, reduce their sleeping time and therefore their performance in class the following day.
• As Galloway et al (2013) show, homework can be a source of stress and physical health problems for children.

To summarize, there are several pros and cons to the use of homework as educational tool for children. What side of the debate are you on? Do you think homework is overall good or bad for the development and education of children? Vote and tell us why (see below).

Should kids have homework? Pros and cons of school assignments Vote and explain why in your experience homework is good or bad for children.

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Pros and cons of school assignments: Should kids have homework?

We are debating many contentious issues concerning education such as the use of computers , school uniforms , and homeschooling . Now we turn our attention to another longstanding debate: Should students have homework? Homework is a widespread practice in both public and private schoools . If we were to conduct a poll among children anywhere in the world on whether keeping or eliminating homework , an overwhelming majority of them would probably vote to abolish it. For kids, these assignments reduce playing time and can be a source of stress. But education has to be decided by adults, that’s why we analize here the pros and cons of doing homework as a form of supplementary education.

Homework Bans

In an article in Education Week Teacher , teacher Samantha Hulsman said she s frequently heard parents complain that a 30-minute homework assignment turns into a three-hour battle with their kids. Kohn points to the lack of evidence that homework is an effective learning tool; in fact, he calls it the greatest single extinguisher of children s curiosity that we have yet invented.

Barish suggests that parents and kids have a "homework plan" that limits the time spent on homework. The plan should include turning off all devices—not just the student’s, but those belonging to all family members.

Resources:

https://netivist.org/debate/should-kids-have-homework
https://www.texaschildrens.org/blog/2016/10/homework-great-debate
https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/should-students-have-homework1808.html
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