10 Reasons Why Students Should Have Less Homework

Everybody agrees that homework helps test your knowledge, spotlighting areas you need improvement. However, everyone (or, at least, most) also agree that it sometimes becomes too much.

Homework is beneficial to students as there’s a need to practice what you have learned in class. It helps you stay grounded in the subject or topic you’ve been taught. However, experts agree that the quality of homework is more important than the quantity.

What Does Homework Mean?

Homework is the assessment a student takes home after each day’s work. Each subject has its category of homework. For example, a subject like English requires homework where students put what they’ve learned into practice. Other subjects can require the integration of drawing or material on different skills.

But, what does homework stand for? Homework is an acronym for “half of my energy wasted on random knowledge” (as spelled out on Tik Tok). However, it is formally defined as tasks assigned to students by their teachers intended to be carried out after school hours.

How Does Homework Affect Students?

Many students get anxious over homework. After spending hours at school undergoing drilling and rigorous teaching, you want home time to be, well, home time. Homework affects students positively and negatively, depending on the caliber and quantity of the questions.

For example, if you have fifty questions from fifty different subjects, you’ll be spending your leisure time working on assignments. As each day passes, such a student will be unable to go out or have play dates. Eventually, what we have is an all-work-and-no-play student – which, by the way, makes Jack a dull boy.

Should We Have Less Homework?

Too much of everything is bad, even something as profitable as homework. Homework should be engaging and fun, not busy work and boring; busywork homework is not good for anyone. Although homework does help you learn some skills, experts say students can still learn those skills with less homework. Ten math problems can be just as constructive as fifty math problems, so why assign too much when little works just as much?

It is possible to have crazy classwork without equally-crazy homework; it is necessary. But a balance is needed; while some parents complain that their children bring too much homework, some worry that they’re not getting enough. Many times teachers give homework to please parents.

10 Unique Reasons Why There Should Be Less Homework

There are many benefits of less homework, including these ten:

Students are motivated and encouraged to learn. The essence of teaching goes beyond simply handing students a tool; one has to teach them how to use it - in a creative and fun way. If there is homework, it should be at least engaging and fun.
More relaxation time. Less homework for students means more relaxation time and, therefore, more willingness to learn. Sleep is important for everyone, especially teenagers and growing children. Students may pull an all-nighter but it tells on them negatively over time. With more hours of rest, they’ll come back refreshed and ready to learn.
Work and play are productive. There’s a popular saying that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy; this is true in many ways. Most students believe school is a prison, and they’re trapped for a good part of their lives. Life outside school is important for students’ learning process and has proven more effective.
A balanced workload improves productivity. Heavy workload results in floundering, even if students don’t complain. Reducing the workload keeps them more alert and mindful.
Leisure time is essential. The time spent with friends and family is essential to students’ wellbeing and should not be taken away. One hour of watching movies with friends and family can go a long way.
Too much homework has adverse effects. Too much homework is associated with several health problems - physical and psychological. These problems include obesity, depression, mental disorder, anxiety, and headaches, to mention a few.
It leads to obesity. Homework overload has been linked with obesity in children.
Little to no benefits. Too much homework hasn’t yielded any benefits so far, only disadvantages.
Unfair punishments. A student may be poor with little access to resources to tackle homework and therefore falls short; this doesn’t matter because he is still punished.
It’s a black hole. Homework is done in the absence of teachers; as such, accessing its value is impossible. There’s no way to know how students completed their homework and learned anything.

In conclusion, over 50% of the students interviewed in a research described homework as a primary stressor in their lives. Nevertheless, one way to ensure students practice what they’ve learned in school is by assigning homework. It now comes down to balancing the equation.

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