During the vacations, in my childhood, the worst part was the homework. God! I never liked it. But at the time of examinations I always wished that I have had done my homework more sincerely so that it would‘ve helped me in my examinations.
The point is that I was always confused if the homework was a good thing or just a waste of time and if you are having the same confusion, just join me along and let’s discuss the facts and statistics about the homework to make the idea clear.
Pros about Homework
Nobody really loves to do homework but then again no one likes to eat the medicines too, but they help and so does homework. It really does.
- The thing is that homework is supposed to improve understanding about a topic, more commonly which is already taught in the class.
- Doing homework on time increases confidence among young students and gives a sense of responsibility which in turns, develops self-character.
- Right amount of homework helps students to improve their grades in the examinations.
- Homework sometimes involves parents and it creates a positive atmosphere between parents and students and a positive attitude towards studies.
Cons about Homework
Students like me really love to give pretty lame excuses to avoid homework but some excuses are not made up but true and many statistical data can support the claim.
- The most common non-desirable effect that homework has is stress. A senior lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education, Denise Pope conducted a survey to find out the primary source of stress in minds of students. In the result, it was found that 56 percent of students considered homework as their primary source of stress. Other blamed examination as their source for stress. Just less than 1 percent of students said that homework wasn’t a stress.
- Having a load of homework doesn’t allow student to do extra-curricular activities and they lose interest in other things.
- Unnecessary homework makes student frustrated and dull.
Surveys
Many surveys have been conducted in the last twenty years to come to a conclusion of the homework dilemma. But it’s always a two-way response. So if we might want to speak in the favour of homework or may be in opposition but on either side we will just be blabbering if we don’t have support of performed surveys with us. And we certainly don’t like to lose a debate. Now, do we?
So let’s take a look on some of the mathematical data here.
In 2004, Alfie Kohn conducted a survey of fourth graders under the title ‘Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing’. In the result, it was concluded that the students who claimed to do homework for more than one hour scored the same grade as the students who were assigned no homework whatsoever. Again in 2009, the results showed that students who were assigned none of the homework did same as the students who were assigned at least two hours of homework. And the students who were assigned more than two hours of homework performed worse than any other student.
A private school also conducted a survey regarding homework in the same year. It was an online survey. The conclusions were extreme such as homework causes depression among students but on the other hand, 24 percent supported the right amount of homework and considered it as an important part of their educational growth.
If you need data for other surveys you can search ‘Surveys conducted on homework’ and if you want to take part in a survey yourself like I did, there are many online surveys out there. You can just search ‘Online surveys for homework’ and can easily participate in any one. It’s fun to be part of a survey.
 Now getting away from numbers and all, I remember a terrible experience of mine. It was Tuesday, yes I distinctly remember the day. I was in fifth grade. There was a teacher of ours who assigned all of us a task to complete whole journal in two days.
I think she was having a bad phase in her life but man that was some serious frustration I had and I was so furious. But eventually we had to do it and this kind of homework is illogical and should not be given by the teachers as this doesn’t helps to improve anything at all but depression which is last thing a bright young mind wants.
Not the least, but the last aspect for this post, if you really are a self-improvising student and you need to know the right way to do your homework so that you can gain knowledge from it the way it is intended to be, allow me to assist you.
- Always set the time for your homework
Planning and setting definite amount of time for the homework you are about to do reduces the probability of the waste of time that happens unplanned.
- Understand the homework
Understand your homework first before you dive into actually doing it. It will give you an idea of what you are about to do so that you can set your mind accordingly.
- Pick a comfortable place
The more comfortable you’ll feel while doing the homework, more it’ll be easier for you to do it. But remember, choose a comfortable place for study, and that eliminates the options of bed or a sofa which makes you feel more dizzy.
- Don’t take silly breaks
Admit it. You like to take breaks while doing homework giving silly excuses to yourself. Excuses are nothing but lies. Complete your task before taking a break.
- Take it easy
Don’t go very hard on yourself. Remember that it’s just homework and not an examination. Keep your head calm and do your homework with ease.
So do your homework on time and don’t let it stress you. Instead do it accordingly so that it’ll help you improve your grades.