Homework Should Be Banned Essay Example

Ever since Horace Mann invented the modern concept of homework, teachers all around the world have presented their students with homework with intentions to further the education of the child. It gets parents involved in the child’s school life and teaches discipline and management skills, yet despite this, recent studies exhibit negligible and even negative effects on students who receive homework. Almost every student has been stressed or worried about homework and some have even had their mental health affected. So should there be a ban on homework?

The main objective of homework is for students to learn however research from the “Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development”(OECD) shows that 4 hours of weekly homework tasks and further time spent on learning has negligible effects on students. “the additional time invested in homework has a negligible impact on performance.”This means that under four hours of homework each would should be adequate right? Well there are two problems. Firstly in the United Kingdom, the average amount of homework for teenagers is four and a half hours which is already an issue but if all schools decided to limit homework to 4 hours per week, then the average student would be working for a total of 34 hours per week which is just 3 hours off the average amount of time a full time employ works. Should students be working and study for as long as a full time employee well according to the law, if a teenager was to get a job, they cannot work for more than twenty five hours each week.

Although many students would be happy to not have homework, it has become an essential part of our education system as it allows both parents and teachers to get a better view at how a student is performing academically. Teachers can identify strengths and weaknesses that a student may have. “Teachers rarely see into the family lives of their students. Parents rarely see the classroom lives of their children. Homework is a bridge that opens lines of communication between the school, the teacher, and the parent.”This way the students education can become more tailored to them as teachers can focus more on weak points apposed to strong points which leaves the student with a better overall education which would have not  been possible without homework. 

As there is a growing awareness about mental health, numerous studies highlight the dire consequences which excess homework can have on a student. One study from the American Physiological Association reveals that students who receive excessive homework are : “At higher risk for depression, suicide, substance abuse and car crashes.” The study also states that students; “Don't perform as well in school.” This illustrates the dangerous effects (associated with mental health) with which too much homework can cause, and it also shows that too much homework can impact a student negatively leaving less homework as the only solution.

The fundamental intention of homework is to learn more on the work being sent home, however it does more than this. Students attain discipline skills through repetition and having to complete homework by a dead line teachers organisation skills too. “Repeating the same problems over and over can be boring and difficult, but it also reinforces the practice of discipline…By having homework completed every night, especially with a difficult subject, the concepts become easier to understand. That gives the student an advantage later on in life.” This displays the other necessary skills which are gained through the action of completing homework which is an added bonus as organisation and discipline are vital skills required when students begin to work.

In the United Kingdom, 10 percent of children in 2020 where found to be medically obese   but the number is still rising and some of this is due to homework. Students who have been assigned homework may be sitting down for hours and more often than not, while eating something. “Long homework assignments require long periods of sitting. A sedentary lifestyle has numerous direct associations with premature death as children age into adults.” This highlights that homework attributes to one of the leading causes of deaths, obesity, and in turn obesity causes poor mental health. Homework teaches skills and reinforce learning but does this make up for the large downsides? Some would most definitely say no.

Homework may be a boring activity, but research shows that students who complete homework have more academic success than those who do not. “Students who regularly do homework have scored better in standardised tests than other students who didn’t do homework at all…research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs.” This goes to show that homework does achieve its primary goal of teaching and since it improves academic success, it is no wonder why so many schools give it out daily.

Homework is a necessary task for students to complete. It improves academic success and teaches students vital skills for their future. Although there are metal health issues associated with homework, many of these issues can be improved with a set limit of the amount of homework given out and other adjustments as well. So should their be a ban on homework? I believe homework is an essential requirement and although it can be improved it should never be banned.

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