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WHY DOES GIVING LESS HOMEWORK MAY PRODUCE BETTER RESULTS?

WHY DOES GIVING LESS HOMEWORK MAY PRODUCE BETTER RESULTS?

  • April 10, 2022
  • Posted By : Oswaal Books

 

After school gets over, children come home to find another school (homework) where the parent is the clueless teacher. Through all the struggle to understand what they are copying rather than learning.

 

Children drag themselves and their pens out of it and are often found resisting homework.

 

"Homework may be the greatest extinguisher of curiosity ever invented." Said Alfie Kohn, a famous writer and education lecturer.

 

Too much homework is the constant complaint of students.

 

Children spend 6-7 hours in school every day, where they are required to engage in multiple classes of theory, practicals, and assignments, and then they bring home homework.

 

Every parent wants their kids to work hard and achieve success but overload them with work until they no longer enjoy school, and learning is certainly not a recipe for success.

 

Homework does not lead to more significant achievement in school or in life. It kills that natural desire to learn that kids are born with.

 

This was backed by research by Denise Pope, senior lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education "The research clearly shows that there is no correlation between academic achievement and homework, especially in the lower grades."

 

A small correlation exists between homework and achievement in middle school, and only two hours is supported by research at the high school level. So why do the teachers persist with the need to give loads of homework?

 

What should be made sure of is to find a healthy balance — because if too little homework is given, students will be bored, but if you give too much, they will be overwhelmed. Now you may ask.

 

 

What does too much homework do?

 

Creates an unbalanced life

 

Students who bring too much homework (more than two hours per night) report negative impacts such as high levels of stress, health problems, and a lack of a balanced life, which adults complain a lot about.

 

These struggles shouldn't have to start so early for children.

 

 

Affects Sleep

 

After a long day in school and numerous hours in coaching institutes, children often take longer to finish their work than they do in school, as they're tired from the long day; thus, they go to bed later, losing precious sleep.

 

"When we are sleep deprived, our focus, attention, and vigilance drift, making it more difficult to receive information," wrote the researchers at the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

 

 

Stress out the whole family

 

Parents often find themselves in stressful situations while helping their kids complete homework. They are expected to know the teacher's methods used in class, placing an unfair burden on parents.

 

Children then have to deal with the stress of their parents' disappointment when they don't understand a concept.

 

 

Ever heard of homework potatoes

 

It is not a delicious dish. It refers to the situation in which kids spend most of the school day sitting; they come home and sit down to do their homework.

 

Kids can become prone to the issue of childhood obesity. Imagine putting on one pound per algebra problem. Isn't that some heavy math problem?

 

 

It does not promote equality

 

Homework can unfairly target economically weaker students.

 

Because while some students go home to well-educated parents and have easy access to computers, others may have family responsibilities, parents who work at night, or no educational resources in their homes, setting them up for failure.

 

 

Not a real way to deduce learning outcomes

 

Homework is completed at homes where teachers don't see it happening and rarely hear specifically about how the process went, so it is impossible to assess its learning outcome objectively.

 

A student can just copy it into a notebook and present them without even reading it once.

 

Now, look at the other side.

 

 

How will giving less homework help?

 

It encourages learning

 

Often teachers assign homework to cover material that they didn't have enough time to cover in class. Teachers should avoid letting homework "teach" the course.

 

A homework should extend the scope of practice covered in class or briefly introduce a new concept to be taught. The goal of homework should be to teach students how to do self-study and enjoy learning.

 

Students should not be handed over the final fruit, but they should be taught how to get one. Classes, discussions, and reading sessions should encourage students to get involved in the subject.

 

 

A rested mind is a focused mind

 

Keeping in mind how long a school day is for students, it will drain their minds if they have hours and hours of homework.

 

Children usually arrive at school between 7 and 8 a.m., stay in school until 3 p.m., may have after-school activities until 5 or 6 p.m., and then go home to find it's already 7 or 8 p.m.

 

Even if the children have a homework load of just 1–2 hours, they won't be able to complete it before 9–10 p.m. Sleep is vital for growing children and teenagers.

 

Lesser homework will minimize the impact of routine burnout on their sleep. Allows them to get more sleep, which means they'll be more awake and proactive in class the next day.

 

 

A life outside of school

 

Students should be well-rounded individuals. Students need to have a life outside of school, and assigning less homework means having more time for physical activities, sports, hobbies, and interests to develop.

 

If they're overloaded with homework, they won't be able to develop an interest in other areas.

 

 

Quality over quantity

 

More work doesn't necessarily mean more learning. When the homework is limited in quantity, students can produce more quality.

 

Since they will have ample time to complete the homework, students will dwell in more significant depth to find new things, strengthening the learning outcomes.

 

 

Family time is an essential time.

 

The last and the most significant point is often forgotten. Students should have time to spend time with their families in the evenings.

 

If students did one less hour of homework and had one more hour with their families to play a game, watch movies, or just talk, it would contribute significantly not only to the health of the family but also to the student's well-being.

 

Learning from a credentialed and knowledgeable teacher is lovely, and worksheets can help students work toward mastering the material. Still, traditional schooling shouldn't be the only way our kids learn.

 

Apart from these, teachers should also find alternatives to homework like encouraging students to watch documentaries, doing math through cooking and grocery shopping with a parent, playing Scrabble, going to museums, etc.

 

By learning in modern ways, children will apply themselves to real-life problems solving the purpose of competency-based questions asked these days.

 

 

ALL THE BEST!

 

GET THE BEST BOOKS TO PREPARE FOR CBSE/CISCE HERE!

 

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