In my view, yes, homework should be abolished. Why? Because I believe it destroys the fundamental purpose of school: helping our children develop good study habits, self-discipline, and a respect for work and learning. The negative impact on kids’ behavior and performance in school is very real.
Homework is a waste of time for both parents and children. The amount of homework done by parents has more to do with the amount of free time they have available. On the other hand, the amount of homework done by children is largely a result of how much homework is required and how much their parents expect of them. Many children will get an extra hour or two per night from homework, but then it is only a small fraction of the amount of free time they receive per week. This means that the effects of homework are very uneven across the population.
What does this mean for kids? Well, on the one hand, it means that kids should not feel obligated to do their homework. They should be allowed to spend the rest of the day playing, exercising, whatever they want to do. But they should also be given the freedom to do so and to do it at any time that they want to, not just when their homework is due. Doing homework at home can be a source of great reward for kids.
However, if a child does his or her homework at school, then homework is viewed as being the enemy. Teachers tend to look down on homework done at home as being a waste of time and energy. They are often accused of being overbearing, uncaring, or just lacking priorities. This negativity toward homework could eventually cause children to stop doing it altogether.
Kids who don’t do homework may get into trouble at school. Children may get suspended or called in front of other students for misconduct. Teachers may use physical punishment to get these children to pick up where they left off. These things are all examples of how homework can be viewed by school officials as a waste of time and energy.
Homework can be viewed by adults as well. Some adults may see the act of putting together a puzzle, getting it done, and then putting it away, as a form of laziness. In these cases, the adult may resent the child for doing homework and may decide to give the child a consequence for disliking homework. An adult who doesn’t do homework could end up working double-duty at home because he’s also doing homework. This situation could lead to a resentment between the adult and the child about how much the child is relying on him.
So why should homework be abolished? For parents, it’s a sound financial investment to get your children to finish school. If you’ve never worked or taken a course on elementary algebra, for example, it would make financial sense to teach it to your four-year-old. That way, when he goes to college and wants to take advanced math courses, he’ll be able to do so with help from his mom and dad.
It’s true that most children don’t need extra help doing homework. They probably have their own set of organizational skills and can quickly put together an assignment on their own. But that doesn’t mean that they should be punished for doing it. There are times when homework needs to be done, and school districts should make homework assignments available so that children can figure them out on their own.
There are also times when homework should not be done. We know that children who do not do schoolwork receive lower grades than their peers. That certainly does not mean, however, that homework should be eradicated. Students can become discouraged by the amount of time they have to devote to it. In addition, some students are simply too disorganized and overwhelmed by schoolwork to give it their all.
You may think that it’s a great idea to have your child check his or her work before class, but that actually causes more problems. Children can become distracted when teachers pull their homework out of their hands. Some children may even begin to miss school for that matter! A better solution would be to let the children pick their homework, and let the children pick theirs at the same time. This way, there is no confusion about which task is due next.
I hope this article has helped you understand some of the reasons that homework is a necessary part of growing up. It doesn’t have to take up so much of your time, and it will help prepare you for what is ahead. So what are you waiting for?