Pros and Cons of Assigning Homework

Whether or not students should be receiving homework is a hot topic right now in education.  As a special education teacher, I have to be honest; I really can see both sides of the argument, and I don’t know yet on which side I fall.

Pro: Additional Practice

Homework provides your students with additional practice in the lessons that you are teaching in school.  It seems like every year the curriculum gets more and more difficult.  That every year we are required to cover even more, yet if we get rid of homework how are we expected to cover it all?

In math especially, homework allows the students to get additional practice with the concept before they come back to class the next day.  This can help them with retention of the information, remembering how to solve the problem.

If we get rid of homework altogether, will students really be able to remember the concept and how to complete twenty-four hours later?

Con: Reduced time for Activities

Giving kids homework takes away from them the time they could be doing other things after school.  If a student has an hour of homework per night, that is one less hour they could be engaging with their family.  It is one less hour that they could be playing outside, sleeping, enjoying the company of their friends.

Students often have a difficult time sitting still and focusing on the six hours that they are at school.  And for a lot of kids, the small amount of recess time that they get is not enough to work off all the extra energy that they have.  Having to go home and complete even more work is difficult for these students.

Pro: Flipped Classroom

Flipping the classroom is a trend right now in education.  The concept is that you have the students do the reading, or watch the videos at home and then they complete the assignments or answer the questions in class the next day.

Having the students do the reading or watch the lesson from home and then complete the activities at school can be beneficial.  This gives the teachers the opportunity to help the students as they are making the mistakes instead of trying to correct them after the fact.

In order to do this, the students have to be assigned homework, or they will be watching the lessons, doing the reading, and doing the assignments in class.  Do we have time for all this?

Con: Repeated Mistakes

When students are doing homework at home, there is often no one there to assist them.  If a student is misinformed on how to solve a particular problem, they are going to make the same mistake on all of the math problems.  If they are not receiving help from a parent, friend, sibling, or tutor, they are just going to keep making the same mistake.  This is going to make it more difficult for the teachers to correct the error because they student has solidified into their brain that they way they are doing it is correct, even though it is not.

Pro: Time Management

When students are in growing up, having homework helps them begin to understand how to manage their time.  I work in a middle school, and students are doing extra-curricular activities as well as school and their social activities.  When students get to college, or the workforce, they are going to be expected to be able to manage their time and complete everything that is expected of them.

Having students have age-appropriate amounts of homework, gives parents and teachers opportunities to help develop these time management skills.  Parents can teach students to set a routine when they get home from school; whether they start their homework right from the get-go or they do something else first, they have a routine either way.

If students get to college and have never had homework before, they are going to have a difficult time with designing a plan to get everything done because they are not going to be used to it.  Students who are naturally more organized and have good executive functioning skills may do well.  But, students who struggle with executive functioning are going to have a more difficult time with this.

Con: Additional Stress

For some kids, school is really difficult.  They spend the six hours of school dealing with anxiety, disabilities, self-doubt, and possibly peer ridicule.  I am not saying that every student deals with this, but some are.

For these students those six hours at school are exhausting.  When they get home, they just need a break from it all.

These students see homework as additional stress.  This student may struggle in math.  At my school, they have two math classes every day and this is hard for some of them.  To have to go home and do even more math is tough.  Especially for the students who take a really long time to complete their homework.

 

As I said at the beginning of this, I am undecided about which side I fall on.  I see the merits of both arguments.  But one thing that I do know is that if we continue to give students homework, we need to ensure that it is homework that was specifically designed to enhance the learning. That is not busy work to get some additional grades in before the end of the term.

Also, Check Out:

Why You Need to Flip Your Classroom

Using Social Media to Communicate with Families