General Homework: is it really necessary?

[tom_mai78101]

Homework was the bane of my childhood, so how will I persuade my children it's necessary, asks Jemima Lewis

One of the things I dread about eventually sending my son to school is the prospect of homework. As a child, my hatred of homework went far beyond the usual. It wasn't so much that I didn't want to do it – I was naturally obedient – but that my entire being rebelled against the injustice of it. I had only to open a textbook after school hours to slip into a state of suppressed rage, from which I would emerge, three hours later, into one of sickening fear. My entire academic life was blighted by lies, disappointed teachers and detentions, all because I would not – could not – do my homework.

How, then, am I to persuade my son to do his? It's not as if, in adulthood, I have come round to the idea. Several recent studies have suggested that homework has little or no beneficial effect on academic performance. And now that I have tasted the pleasures of a self-contained working day, it seems to me even more of a monstrous imposition on a child's free time.

Read more here.

 

[Prometheus]

Down with homework!

 

[UndeadDragon]

Down with homework! (Everyone starts to chant)

 

[Pineapple]

Its an idiotic idea to begin with.

Its the teachers job to gives the kids the knowledge they need - IN CLASS. If they can't do that they are not teaching well enough.

Only thing that should need work out side of school is projects.

 

[Darthfett]

I think homework teaches you how to do work on your own and be independent. Without homework, you'd end up being at school for much longer (so you retain everything you learned, and so you learn everything you WOULD have learned in homework).

If you didn't have essay homework, how would you know how to write one? You would end up spending the time spent in-class, waiting for everyone else to finish. Grades would be mostly the same for everyone because everyone spent the same amount of time working on their assignments.

 

[T.s.e]

I think homework teaches you how to do work on your own and be independent.

That's supposed to be taught at school.

Without homework, you'd end up being at school for much longer (so you retain everything you learned, and so you learn everything you WOULD have learned in homework).

The way I do homework is that I find the answers to the tasks, nothing else. I don't contemplate over the answers, it's just too damn boring for me to think about. It's really just empty time-wasting, if we had done it at school I would have understood it better.

If you didn't have essay homework, how would you know how to write one?

It's the teachers' job to teach us that.

Grades would be mostly the same for everyone because everyone spent the same amount of time working on their assignments.

And then everyone can get the amount of help from the teachers as they need, not everyone has a family that can help with homework.

 

[Darthfett]

That's supposed to be taught at school.

You can't be taught something that has to be learned through experience. You don't become independent by being told how, you become independent when you are forced to.

The way I do homework is that I find the answers to the tasks, nothing else. I don't contemplate over the answers, it's just too damn boring for me to think about. It's really just empty time-wasting, if we had done it at school I would have understood it better.

You should start out not really knowing where to go, and having to go back through notes or through the book. Then, you figure out how to do the problem. Eventually you get used to the problems and can do them much more quickly. This way you understand how to apply the concepts you learned in class.

It sounds like you're talking about busywork, which is not the same thing as homework.

It's the teachers' job to teach us that.

Again, you can't learn from being told how to do something, you learn from doing it, and finding your mistakes.

And then everyone can get the amount of help from the teachers as they need, not everyone has a family that can help with homework.

I haven't had my family help me with homework in several years. I have around 12 hours of homework every week. I struggle with my homework. However, because I know how to solve problems on my own, and know how to use my notes and the book as a resource, I am able to figure out all these problems. I would not trade this homework time for in-class time.

 

[Bronxernijn]

No homework? More teachers! Money...

 

[uberfoop]

I would support a relaxation on homework at the secondary level and below for sure, though it would have to be controlled rather than just an elimination. Work to do outside of class should always be available, because if a student is actually interested in improving their skill about something, and is actually interested in doing certain kinds of relevant work outside of class, it can be very beneficial. This having been said, I believe that all or most of mathematics, science, and history homework should be rendered optional (The math department head at my high school had this going on for most of the second semester of BC calc, and we mostly did fantastic).


The issue of essays seems to be a major debate in this thread. Personally, I believe that large papers and projects are the two things that kind of need to remain homework. From my experience, it seems as though people are actually far more productive on these sorts of things outside of class.

 

[Frosthowl]

We had to do it so they should too <.<

 

[Azlier]

>We had to do it so they should too <.<

Did your parents say that about physical punishments in schools?

 

[Slapshot136]

We had to do it so they should too <.<

where would progress be then?

 

[thewrongvine]

Homework is annoying, but I mean I understand how they say homework is for individuality and extra work, but it's sometimes too much. I think before college, kids should only have like 30 minutes to 1 hour of homework a day, and then like two projects a marking period.

But noooo, my school likes to give us 3 hours of homework a day plus like 3 projects every single week.

~Hai-Bye-Vine~

 

[ElderKingpin]

homework is for evaluation. i honestly think it is important. especially since in college (or at least the ones all of my teachers went to) said that during class, you sit down, and the teacher does some stuff, then its up to you to learn the material, since teachers cant piggyback you all through life

And at vine: Pretty much, my school has a RULE that the teachers do not give too much homework, it should be 30 minutes per major subject

 

[SuperSoldier]

[General] Homework: is it really necessary?

The answer: No.
No questions asked.

 

[Duwenbasden]

yes yes you try to learn Calculus / Discrete Math without homework. While I understand some courses don't need homework (history, geography ...), some requires them for practice (ALL science / math courses).

 

[trb92]

>yes yes you try to learn Calculus / Discrete Math without homework

I plan to learn Calculus without homework come February, when the second semester of my school starts.

>some requires them for practice (ALL science

Bull. I am taking Chemistry (And will also have Physics next semester), I don't do any homework. It's a waste of time. I know how to do the stuff, I'm not going to use my own time to waste paper by writing out answers to useless questions.

The only time I do homework in any class is when I know, for a fact, that the teacher will check. When I do homework, I answer the question in as little time as possible, writing the least amount I can. I don't try to figure out what I'm doing or why it's done that way, I just write down the correct answer.

 

[Ninja_sheep]

wow, this article is terrible
short, not backed up by anything, only talks about one opinion.

@discussion:
Homework makes sense.
For example math you just have to practise. Doing this all the time with a teacher would work, but be very inefficient and too costly.

 

[Darthfett]

I plan to learn Calculus without homework come February, when the second semester of my school starts.

Depends on what level you're taking this at. I took AP Calculus in high school, and did all of my "homework" in class. I was the A student, finding math extremely easy until then. I took the AP Test, and got a 3, which resulted in credit for Calc I and Calc II. However, I went into college aiming for Architecture, but changed my major to Computer Science.

Now that I have to take higher level math classes, I decided to retake Calc II. This class is HARD. I mean really hard, as in I'm getting a C in it right now. High school level classes do NOT teach you everything, and they often skip many of the methods of doing things. College classes up the level of everything.

Bull. I am taking Chemistry (And will also have Physics next semester), I don't do any homework. It's a waste of time. I know how to do the stuff, I'm not going to use my own time to waste paper by writing out answers to useless questions.

This also depends on what sort of class it is. If it's high school level, no, you probably won't have much trouble. However, you won't be getting many concepts, and you won't know how to do all the problems. Higher level courses WILL require you to study much more of your time outside of class, because the material is so detailed.

 

[tom_mai78101]

wow, this article is terrible
short, not backed up by anything, only talks about one opinion.

I failed at giving you a picture of what's going on...