The topic of homework is controversial amongst teachers, students, and parents. While it is agreeable that homework is crucial in the development of a student’s brain, there must be a stopping point for when too much homework starts to hinder the academic and mental development of students.
Although many students complain about homework, there are benefits that must be recognized. According to the University of San Diego Online, homework improves the academic performance of students, strengthens classroom education, and aids in the development of good study habits. Yes, homework can seem like a burden, but when the homework we are given is designed to test our thinking and give us the practice we need, it is an awesome way to develop our knowledge.
Besides helping students academically, homework also helps them learn skills that will benefit them in the future. According to the University of the People, “Homework promotes a sense of responsibility and independence. …This independence prepares you for the academic challenges ahead and the autonomy required in your professional and personal life.” Homework not only practices a student’s knowledge on a subject, but also develops a different set of wisdom for discipline, critical thinking, and time management. These skills are something that everyone should have if they want to succeed in school, work, and life.
When there are benefits to a subject, there are always consequences. Although this might be hard to believe for some, Edutopia states, “According to researchers, students spend as much as 85 minutes or as little as 30 minutes on homework that teachers imagined would take students one hour to complete.” Although teachers might give students work that is expected to be completed easily, that is not the case. Think about it, if a student receives a homework assignment that is expected to be “quick” and “easy” then the student will receive more work since teachers might fail to understand how difficult and time-consuming homework can be.
Despite the benefits of homework, there are many drawbacks to homework, especially when there’s a never-ending pile of it to do. Some of the most well-known complaints are about stress and time consumption. According to the Stanford Report, too much homework can lead to greater levels of stress, which is supported with “56 percent of the students considering homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the student’s said homework was not a stressor.” Even though to some teachers and school districts homework might seem harmless, to students it is the complete opposite. When homework becomes too much to handle, it eats up everything important. The Stanford Report also mentioned that reductions in health are a side effect of too much homework. This is evident because “In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems.”
Stress and mental health are common issues related to teenagers, and one of the best ways to combat them is to have students do what they love and enjoy. However, when there is simply too much work to handle- which is something that most teenagers experience- they lose the time to even do what they enjoy. According to the American College of Education, “Students and parents already have full plates in the evenings. As educators, we don’t enjoy taking work home either. Rushing to sports practice and extracurriculars, parents and students are already stretched thin in the brief few hours between dismissal and bedtime.” Not only is too much homework detrimental to teenagers, but it also ends up effecting parents and teachers as well. When it turns out that almost all human beings related to the academic environment are struggling with balancing homework, it is obvious that there is an issue here.
Homework should not be something for students to dread, instead it should be something that can help students grow while also letting them have the time to enjoy their youth. According to Edutopia, to achieve this dream, educators should focus on giving less work, offer choices to how a student challenges themself, offer more engaging or optional types of homework, and grade for completion if there is going to be a grade anyways. If school systems can achieve the requirements, then it is very possible for students to be less stressed, happier, and freer to do what they want to do.
