A Systematic Overhaul of The Homework Ideology

According to some education experts, homework is an unfortunate necessity, because material covered in the classroom setting needs reinforcement in order for a student to fully comprehend important information.

However, the idea that homework is a necessary component in successful education is a highly controversial subject, and many experts have conflicting opinions.

According to Scott Conroy, in his article “Will Homework Ban Ease Student Stress,” many San Francisco Bay Area schools are taking steps to reduce homework, in hopes of reducing stress, substance abuse, and cheating.

Education critics argue that homework effectively reduces the amount of time children have to be children. Instead of socializing, creating new friendships, and building family relationships, children in all grade levels are becoming increasingly busy.

However, Harris Cooper from Duke University argues that homework does in fact help the learning process. This raises the ultimate question of whether the learning process is more important than the living process; should a child focus his or her early years on writing essays and completing worksheets, or building relationships that will last a lifetime?

While students may benefit from homework, Cooper understands that “the amount and type that is done at each age level should be different.” This seems like an idea that would be sensible, and would seem like a guideline one might like to be integrated into public education. But is this what really happens?

 Joseph Tabruin, a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, argues that this is not always the case. “Throughout my public education,” claimed Tabruin, “there were grades in which we (students) were assigned large amounts of homework, and other grades in which there was significantly less work.” Tabruin agrees that it would make complete logical sense for the homework load to increase throughout education levels, with college dealing the most amount of work outside the classroom.

“In middle school and high school,” says Tabruin, “the homework difference between grades followed no guidelines based on logic.” Instead, the teacher was the determining authority on the amount of homework assigned. Therefore, identical classes with different teachers would experience different homework workloads, which contributed to significant stress among peers.

According to Scott Conroy, the issue of overworked students is found primarily in wealthy communities, where high standard schools are found.

Ultimately, education committees should work to analyze the homework situation in their own school systems, and integrate new policies and guidelines as needed. A complete systematic overhaul of the homework ideology may be required, but something must be done in order to protect the lives of students.