Homework, Is It Necessary?

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River Edwards, Author

The ongoing debate over whether homework is an essential part of a quality education has been an aggressively disputed topic for some time. Researchers argue that homework has benefits that are crucial to an individual’s education, but recent studies reveal that the benefits of homework are limited, and in some instances, it is harmful.

According to a study by Denise Pope, a researcher and senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, more than two hours of homework a night may be counteractive to one’s education. Pope writes, “Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good.” The data gathered by Pope from a survey of 4,317 students from ten high-performing schools in California suggest that a large amount of homework is harmful and considered a primary source of stress by the majority of students surveyed.

The stress induced by an enormous homework load can be damaging to a student’s health. Many claim that their homework load leaves them sleep deprived, or with other health problems including weight loss, headaches, exhaustion, and stomach issues. However, the negative effects of too much homework don’t stop there. Data from the survey also reveal that students who spend large amounts of time on homework were “Not meeting their development needs or cultivating other critical life skills.” The time the students spent on their homework resulted in much less time to be with friends and family, and time for themselves.

“It takes away from my personal time. I also cannot spend time with my family,” says Santiago Mazulis, a Santa Fe High junior. Santiago is one of many students who feel that their homework load is overwhelming, stressful, and not always useful. “I feel like I’m not really learning from it,” he said, claiming that he has experienced sleep deprivation due to homework. These sentiments are echoed by many students at Santa Fe High.

In another study on the effects of homework, by Gerald LeTendre, a professor at Penn State University, children who are assigned too much homework experience mental fatigue and disillusionment, which results in a serious loss of motivation for learning. This is partially due to what is known as the “shotgun approach,” a common method used by many teachers in which the same assignment is assigned to an entire class. The students are assigned this homework with inadequate explanation and expected to understand and complete it. LeTendre argues that this method is extremely ineffective as students who don’t understand the assignment will fall behind due to lack of feedback.

LeTendre claims, “It is more effective to identify the area the child struggles with and assign skill-building work that is beneficial to them.” Letendre believes this method of teaching increases learning and prevents students from falling behind in school or becoming over-stressed.

Duke University social psychologist Harris Cooper has reached similar conclusions. Cooper argues that students stop absorbing useful information after doing two hours of homework and begin to feel burned out toward education as a result of the stress.

Researchers especially regard “busy work” as counteractive to education as a whole. “Students are assigned a lot of busywork. They’re naming it as a primary stressor, but they don’t feel it is supporting their learning,” says Mollie Galloway, an associate professor of educational leadership at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore.

“Some nights, it’s just too much,” says Mateo Romero, also a junior at SFHS. “People’s grades begin to drop because they don’t have the time.”

But what is the actual value of homework?

For many teachers, it’s an issue of time. History teacher Mr. Caldwell says, “There’s so much to cover in AP courses especially that there’s just not enough time in class.” Homework essentially serves as a way to cover more material due to time constraints in the classroom. In addition, Mr, Caldwell explains, it is important for students to “learn how to research, write papers, and work outside of class” in order to prepare for the academic environment in college.

Mr. Smith, who teaches computer science and emergent technologies, believes in applying “backward design” to his curriculum. “I look at how much time we have in class, and if there’s too much to do in class, I assign some work for home,” he said. According to Mr. Smith, this method allows him to plan the work students must complete, as well as keep everyone on track.

But aside from reinforcing the material students learn and preparing for college, homework is also said to be important for achieving high test scores. Cooper argues that students who do their homework actually score significantly higher than those who don’t do their homework, and a few small studies can prove this. However, the correlation between homework and test scores is not fully conclusive.

Changing the homework scene is certainly difficult, but possible. Some students claim that homework can actually be useful and manageable. “If it’s interesting and encouraging, its good,” junior Joy Farkas states, implying that not all homework is bad, but it could be more positive for students if assigned thoughtfully — and in reasonable quantities — by their teachers.